Life and Love in the Emerald City
by Hayden Lucas
Summary: The iCarly gang begin life together after their respective weddings.  What happens as life becomes more and more complex?
1. iDon't Want to Leave You

**iDon't Want to Leave You**

Barely a month had passed since their respective weddings, but the combined Shay, Puckett, and Benson families had adapted swimmingly to their new routines, albeit with a few hiccups.

Marissa Benson was overjoyed to welcome her new daughter-in-law to the family, but was less than thrilled that her brilliant little boy had decided to forego a Computer Science scholarship by transferring from the University of Washington across town to Seattle University, simply to be with Melanie on a full-time basis. The fact that he subsequently changed his major from Computer Science to Business Management left his well-meaning if overbearing mother scratching her head. The argument that followed in the living room of his childhood home at Bushwell Plaza was a family affair. It had escalated from a heated discussion between mother and son to include both Puckett Twins and Carly Shay. Melanie, of course, wanted Freddie's best interests looked after. Sam was there to back up her sister, should things get swingy. Carly was there out of love for all concerned, but also to play the peacemaker.

"How can you walk away from a full-ride scholarship?"

"Mom! I'm just making a change… and besides, I have to think about the two of us, rather than just what could be _easy._"

Melanie Puckett-Benson threw her arms around her man's waist, both out of love and protection. The little blonde pixie wanted to protect her man. It took her brain a minute to process the fact that not everyone's home life mirrored the childhood she and Sam had shared. She logically knew that this woman, however irrational, would never harm her only child. She spoke up. Her voice came out stronger than she'd expected.

"Not to speak out of turn, but I've told him this wasn't necessary. Believe me, once he makes his mind up, that's it – just like other members of my family…"

Melanie shot Sam a sidelong glance, followed by a smirk. Sam simply grinned before rounding on Mrs. Benson to put in her own two cents. However she had intended for the words to come out, they exited her mouth in what was apparently mid-sentence. For the first time in her life, it seemed as though Sam Puckett wasn't completely cool under pressure.

"…Crazy mess of a woman! We're all family now, so if you want to pick a fight with him that means you're picking a fight with her, which means you deal with me!"

Freddie and Melanie were both shocked. Sam pulled Carly to her by the waist, the blonde's fingers catching in the belt loops of the brunette's skinny jeans. True to form, Sam's first instinct was protection. She wanted everyone simply _to be_. Carly Shay hated confrontation, but Sam Puckett deplored it. She'd had enough fights and aggression in her young life. Now, at peace for the first time in her life, she had decided that she would be the head of their combined family. As far as she was concerned, all family matters were hers to weigh in on and regardless of the personal animosity between her and Freddie Benson growing up, none of that mattered anymore. They were family now. Sam would fight and die for all of them.

Carly squeezed Sam's hand tightly. She didn't like this. Sam rubbed Carly's palm with her thumb. This was what it took to calm the Cupcake down after periods of high stress. Today, of all days, was not that day for Sam's precious little Carly to be stressed out.

Sam glared at Marissa Benson, glancing briefly in the direction of her sister.

"Are we done here?"

Freddie's mother swallowed hard and stared at her living room floor.

"I overreacted, I know… I apologize. I didn't realize that it would involve all of you…"

Freddie jumped in, afraid that the Blonde Headed Demon might throw his mother even further under the bus.

"Mom… I get it, I do… but you need to let things like this be between Mel and me… All I'm trying to do is support her as best I can…"

There it was. This was all about Freddie's feelings for the blonde at his side. Marissa Benson felt ashamed of herself. How could she not have seen this? Her son would always be her son, but the truth of the matter was that he _was_ a grown man who cared so deeply for the woman at his side that he chose to follow her, come whatever may.

Sam's cell phone squawked at her. She had just gotten a text message calling her in to work unexpectedly.

"Goddamn…"

Carly glanced at the phone. She knew. Sam was crushed, although the owner of the restaurant where she worked seemed not to care that she was Carmine Puckett's niece. Sam's eyes met Carly's and saw tears beginning to form.

"I'm so sorry, Cupcake…"

Sam hated herself at this moment. Carly Shay was now her wife. She wanted nothing more than to stay by her Cupcake's side. Carly needed her more today, but Sam knew that that was an impossible choice. Carly wanted it, but would never allow Sam to put her above her other obligations.

"Go… I understand, really… this wasn't something you had any control over, Baby…"

"_Goddamn you, Carly Shay, for being so logical…"_

Sam, completely oblivious to a roomful of other people, craned her face to meet her partner's and kissed Carly lightly, their lips barely touching.

"I love you…" Sam whispered.

She glanced to her sister, who instinctively knew. They didn't need words.

Melanie Puckett, also the dutiful wife, kissed the back of Freddie's neck gently, all the while glaring at her mother-in-law. She spoke to Freddie, but it was obvious by the stress and intonation of her voice that her words were meant not for her husband, but for his mother.

" Carly and I need to be going… I'll leave you two to sort this all out, but _I love you_…"

Sam Puckett, ever the invisible ninja of Bushwell Plaza, had taken her leave with only Melanie and Carly realizing she had gone. Melanie Benson, taking the brunette onto herself, looped her arm around Carly's back, as Sam always did. Carly needed every ounce of support Melanie could give her today. The petite blonde whispered into her ear as they reached Mrs. Benson's front door and entered the hallway.

"I just want you to know that we all love you, Carls…"

Melanie planted a tender kiss alongside Carly's head, just near her ear. Carly couldn't bring herself to tell Melanie the feelings that it stirred in her. _She_ knew better – Melanie was not Sam – but her body reacted nonetheless. This woman looked identical to her love, so her body told her brain that they were one and the same. She simply hugged the tiny blonde close, thanking her profusely.

Melanie turned scarlet.

"Carly… Don't. We're family now…"

_**STUCK IN CROSSTOWN SEATTLE TRAFFIC…**_

Sam spoke furiously in Italian. She hadn't wanted to do this, but on this of all days? She didn't have a choice. Before today, she held nothing against the Brooklyn transplant who signed her paychecks. That changed, however, when he tore her away from the Cupcake this afternoon. _Any day but Today._

The New Yorker had no idea how bad he had inadvertently made things for himself. Now, he was left to deal with Carmine Puckett.


	2. iDon't Like Hospitals

**iDon't Like Hospitals**

Carly Shay was hyperventilating in the passenger seat of Melanie's car as they pulled to a stop in the parking structure at Seattle University Medical Center.

"Shhh… Relax, Carly…" Melanie cooed. Carly was a mess. Melanie knew that she wasn't what Carly needed. She needed Sam. Her sister was the one that was supposed to be here, rubbing Carly's shoulders, telling her to breathe, and telling her things would be fine.

Melanie Puckett cursed quietly in Italian. She was angry, though certainly not at her sister. She was angry at the situation. Of all the days when she could have picked up an extra shift, did her boss really have no one else on the payroll to go to besides Sam?

Melanie brushed a strand of dark hair from Carly's face and gently asked her to sit up and try to focus on why they were here. Melanie was such a mother at heart. This was the treatment that Carly needed – gentle and soft. She babbled unintelligibly. Melanie gently touched her shoulder.

"I promise you, Sam will be here before you know it, Honey…"

Carly knew Melanie was lying. Sam needed to work. She didn't blame her. It wasn't anybody's fault.

"Liar…"

Carly smiled gently. She wanted Mel to know that her little white lie had done as she'd intended. It had lifted her spirits. Carly looked Melanie in the eye and told her she loved her.

"Carly, I didn't do anything. We're family, and of course I love you… so anything you need, I'm here for, remember that."

Melanie leaned over and undid Carly's seatbelt. The brunette's hands were trembling. Melanie was instantly the motherly figure again. She knew that that was what Sam's little Cupcake needed.

"See? Now isn't that much better, Carls?"

Carly spoke, her voice hoarse from crying.

"I'm not a child, Melanie…"

"I never said you were, honey… I just… you know…"

Carly certainly did know. Melanie was the way that she was because Pam Puckett had never been. Sam and Melanie completed one another in that way. One was the softness, the other rock hard. It was just the way that it needed to be.

_**SEATTLE U. MEDICAL CENTER, FOUR FLOORS UP…**_

Carly Shay was beyond embarrassed. She knew that she needed to do this, but it felt humiliating. She was hunched over a clipboard, recounting her medical history in intimate detail, waiting to be seen. Melanie had stepped out for a cup of tea in the coffee shop downstairs. Carly knew that the real reason was her sister-in-law not wanting to intrude on the intimate details of Carly's life with her sister. As far as Melanie was concerned, she wouldn't ask and Sam and Carly wouldn't be required to tell. The arrangement had worked out well for them thus far and Melanie felt no desire to intrude. They were all adults and Melanie knew full well what went on when Carly and Sam retired for the night. It was simply not something she felt comfortable discussing with her sister.

_**DOWNSTAIRS…**_

Melanie Benson watched her cell phone skitter across the table before setting down her cup of hot tea to check it.

* * *

><p><em><strong>NEW MESSAGE<strong>_

_**FROM: Sam**_

_**Sent: 12:27 PM, PST**_

_Yo Princess,_

_My Cupcake okay? Tell her I'll be there soon. Love you both. – Sam_

* * *

><p>Melanie didn't understand and frankly didn't care. She left her paper cup of Earl Grey half-drunk on the table and headed for the elevator.<p>

_**BACK UPSTAIRS…**_

The woman at the nurse's station looked up from the computer screen to see a young woman rubber-necking at the chart next to the exam room. She had just admitted a tall brunette who had a consultation in the next fifteen minutes.

"Excuse me, Miss? If you aren't a patient or family of a patient, I'm going to need to ask you to leave.

She didn't answer. She simply extended her middle finger in the general direction of the nurse's station.

Before she could reach for the phone and call security, a thin, well-manicured hand reached across the desk and pushed down on the desk phone, disconnecting the line.

"What my sister means to say is that we are very much family and that we have, according the hospital's policies, every reason in the world to be here, Thank you very kindly, Ma'am…"

The nurse looked from left to right, fairly confused. Her mouth dropped open ever so slightly. Melanie answered her question before it could even be asked.

"Yes ma'am, we _are _identical twins, but I would imagine that's something you're quite familiar with…"

She shot the woman behind the desk a wry smile. This was as flippant as her manners allowed her to be. She turned, walked a short distance to her sister, held her close, and spoke to her in a hushed tone.

"Sam? But didn't you have to work?"

That glint in Sam's eye told Melanie that what was to follow would be a half-truth at best.

"Long story, Princess… Gas leak at the restaurant…"

Melanie Benson knew better than to ask her sister for the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. It didn't matter anymore anyway. She gently nudged her sister out of the way and rapped her knuckles on the exam room door, knowing Carly Shay was probably shaking like a leaf on the other side. She waited a long moment before turning the knob.

The sight Melanie saw caused her heart to ache. Carly was sitting on the edge of the exam table, fully dressed minus her shoes, staring down at the floor, hugging her knees to her chest.

The brunette looked up from the floor to see not one, but two identical blondes framing the doorway. Her heart sang for joy.

"Sam!"

"Hey-ya, Cupcake…"

This was simply Sam Puckett's way. She would always downplay her emotions in public, unless she and Carls were alone. Even with Melanie present, it came too close to exposure.

"But you had to work…."

"Long story…" both Pucketts said in unison.

Melanie turned to her sister and smiled.

"We have _got_ to stop doing that…"

Sam simply shrugged her shoulders.

Melanie entered the room and took a seat along the wall, allowing Sam to follow suit before she spoke up.

"Forgive my ignorance, you two, but what exactly is going to go on here today?"

Melanie asked out of genuine concern for Carly's wellbeing and a heartfelt desire to be as big a help to both Carly and Sam as they needed her to be.

A crude grin crossed Sam Puckett's face and she looped her arm around her sister's shoulders.

"We'll have the _'The Bees and the Bees'_ talk tonight, Princess, I promise."

Both Carly Shay and Melanie Puckett turned bright red. Much like everything else in life, Sam could even make a routine doctor's appointment a unique experience.


	3. iThink We've Met Before

**iThink We've Met Before**

Sam Puckett knew fully well why her precious little Cupcake had fallen to pieces on Melanie this afternoon. Carly was, of course, prone to panic attacks, so this much was understandable. Given the fact that her doctor operated out of the Seattle University Medical Center, Sam knew that a panic attack was a foregone conclusion – hence her need to be with Carls today, of all days.

The plain truth of the matter was that, although she, Carly, and Melanie shared the Seattle U. campus, Sam knew that her Cupcake would always associate this building with the loss of her mother.

The loss of Maureen Shay was a trauma that Sam knew her lover had never recovered from. Her mother's passing had left a gaping wound in Carly's chest that only love could fill. Sam had first learned this as a small child – as Carly's very best friend in the world – as she attempted to ease her loss with failed relationship after failed relationship, trying to fit the square pegs of the male population into the round hole in her heart.

Sam gently stroked Carly's palm with her thumb, her own hands rough and slightly weathered. To Carly Shay, however, this was the most comfortable feeling in the world, like a warm bath. Her knees felt weak and Sam could see a gentle quiver in her lower lip.

"Shhh… It's okay, Cupcake. I'm right here…"

Melanie looked on silently, not wanting to interrupt a shared moment, nor wanting to leave the room. She wanted to cry. Her sister was finally in a position where she could feel comfortable letting down her defenses long enough to show that the years of abuse hadn't hardened her to the core.

The gentle intimacy of the moment was shattered by the exam room door swinging open once again. A tall woman, perhaps somewhere between Carly and Spencer in age, walked in, reading what could only be Carly's medical chart. She looked to Carly to be a slightly shorter, thicker version of her friend Shelby Marx. The thought of Shelby wasn't entirely accurate, but it was the first image that popped into Carly's head. She still couldn't speak. Looking up from Carly's chart, pale green eyes met Sam Puckett's blue ones. Sam could only swallow hard, recognition dawning on her. She had seen this woman before – socially – and now was perhaps the worst possible time to awkwardly explain herself. Thankfully, the tall doctor simply turned to Carly, speaking softly, but with an authority that told the slight brunette that she knew what she was talking about, but would also treat her with the utmost care and compassion.

"So…" she began, casually and compulsively clicking her pen, "What can I do for you today?" She smiled, placing her hand gently on Carly's shoulder. Sam's stomach knotted up. Melanie grabbed her sister at the wrist, insisting that now was neither the time nor the place.

Carly spoke, barely above a whisper. Her doctor found it quite adorable, smiling back at her.

"Well, that's understandable... Oh mercy, where are my manners?"

Realizing she had forgotten to properly introduce herself, she turned casually to the Puckett Twins, extending her hand in that soft, yet authoritative handshake women reserved solely for other women.

Sam Puckett spoke first.

"Doctor…"

"Sharkey," she offered, locking eyes with the blonde, a confused realization settling in behind her eyes. Melanie Benson sensed things weren't quite right. She threw herself into the fray, preventing Sam from causing some sort of scene.

"Melanie Benson…"

It was quite obvious to everyone else in the room that Melanie was quite proud of her new surname.

Sam studied the Cupcake's doctor with steely blue ninja eyes. She took her in, from head to toe, analyzing this woman. She knew what she would say. She simply needed the appropriate opening.

Carly fidgeted on the exam table, waiting for what she knew had to be coming. The fact that her lady-doctor was, in fact, a _lady doctor_ made things abundantly easier. She looked past her to Sam as her doctor spoke, those beautiful chocolate eyes her partner loved bloodshot from tears.

"Well, it's abundantly clear why you're here… but in the interest of full disclosure, you're looking to start a family, is that right?"

Carly nodded, looking scared.

"Relax… it's not so taboo anymore…"

Carly looked terrified. She looked to Melanie, who had been so good to her already today. The beautiful blonde little pixie completely misunderstood what Carly wanted of her.

"If you'll excuse me, I don't believe I need to be here…"

Melanie Benson carefully and politely excused herself.

Carly Shay, minus her new sister, broke into a case of the sniffles as she spoke to her doctor. The truth was that this woman made her feel comfortable and she was comfortable discussing the matters at hand in frank detail because she was, in fact, another woman. This wouldn't be easy, but she'd do the best that she could.

"You're sure that this won't be… because…"

Sam knew that despite her best intentions, Carly was so uncomfortable in this place that it would be up to her to do the talking. Despite her own efforts to be delicate, Sam still sounded somewhat mad at the world.

"What Carls is trying to say is that we're a couple…"

Carly turned bright red. The tall dirty blonde in the lab coat shot Sam a quizzical look, as though this were the most obvious statement in the world.

"Well, I was operating under that assumption initially, yes… and no, it won't be an issue in the slightest…"

Carly looked to her doctor with questioning, tear-filled eyes. There were a million things that she needed to know.

_**TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES LATER…**_

As the initial consultation had gone on, Carly had begun to notice little things about Dr. Sharkey that had gotten her thinking. She was much warmer than other doctors she remembered, particularly when her relationship with Sam had become public knowledge. It was the Twenty-First Century, but she knew that people like her, Sam, Shelby, and Wendy were still behind the proverbial eight ball in a lot of respects.

They had just scheduled a follow-up appointment for the following Friday. Carly was ecstatic. Sam did her best to be the rock that her Cupcake needed. She knew just how much this meant to Carly – on so many levels. She gently rubbed her fingers over the soft flesh of Carly's palm. Helping Carly to her feet, Dr. Sharkey again extended her hand to Sam Puckett.

"It was so nice to meet you, Sam… Carly is quite lucky to have you…"

Sam took the doctor's hand and shook it, a knowing smile crossing her face.

"Actually, Doctor… I believe we've met before…"

Sam's eyes darted to the doctor's slender wrist, not so dissimilar from her sister's. There, she noticed a bright blue bracelet, complete with a yellow equals sign – the logo for the Human Rights Campaign.

The doctor thought that the blonde – and consequently her twin – looked quite familiar, though she couldn't place exactly from where.

"Oh, have we? Where?"

Sam smirked.

"Somewhere…. Over the Rainbow?"


	4. iHave An Announcement

**iHave an Announcement**

It had to be nerves, as logically, Carly knew Morning Sickness would not set in immediately. She was nervous as she and Sam left the medical center after their follow-up appointment. Carly was nervous, but ravenous at the very same moment. Sam found it incredibly adorable that her tiny little Cupcake now had a Puckett-sized appetite.

"But Sam…." Carly whined, "I'm starving!"

Sam playfully rolled her eyes as they drove through the city.

"Listen here, Cupcake… You're eating for two now, so Mama's got to set some ground rules. First off, you eat healthy. Secondly, what Mama says goes. And Thirdly…"

Carly cut Sam off, afraid she was being lectured in the way that The Colonel had when she was a child.

"Sam… please, I'm sorry… just love me… please…"

It hurt Sam's heart that Carly still didn't understand. She decided she simply had to repeat herself.

"And Thirdly, Cupcake…" Sam began, "Remember that Mama loves you more than anything…"

Carly flushed bright red at Sam's profession of love, although she'd heard it a thousand times before. Today was different. Today, Carly Shay not only had a wedding band on her finger, but also was – if all had gone well – carrying Sam Puckett's child. She was the happiest woman in Seattle. Sam gently patted Carly's thigh. Sam loved her more than anything in the world.

"Carls…"

She knew what Sam was thinking. She _always_ knew what Sam was thinking. Sam would never say so with other people around, but Carly knew that her big, strong baby was absolutely petrified.

"Sam, look… You don't have to play tough with me. I know you're scared. I'm scared too. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I know that our family is the perfect place for a little person… You, me, Freddie, Mel, Spen—" Carly reconsidered, playfully. "Okay, well, maybe not Spencer…"

Sam laughed and gently reached over to pat Carly's midsection. She loved the thought of being there for what was to come. This was, in her mind, her own way of atoning for her own mother's shortcomings. From the moment that Carly came to her in tears, wishing for a child, Sam Puckett knew that she had to do this – She needed to be the best, strongest, most supportive partner she could be for Carly, but also be the best parent that she could be – both mother and father – to the child that would eventually call her Mama. She rested her hand over Carly's navel.

"Ten and Two, Puckett!"

Sam laughed.

"Chillax, Cupcake… Mama can drive and love you all at the same time."

Carly just rolled her eyes. She knew picking a fight with the Blonde Headed Demon in the middle of Seattle traffic was a losing proposition.

_**IL TERRAZZO CARMINE, A HALF HOUR LATER…**_

Sam had promised Carly that they would stop for lunch on the way home. Sam had, however, neglected to tell Carly that she already had a bit of a surprise party in the works and had for the past week. It took some doing, but Sam, Melanie, and Freddie all had managed to keep their respective traps shut in the interim. The Bensons, of course, knew exactly what news would be forthcoming, owing to the fact that, for the first time in years, Sam and Melanie were behaving like sisters and were talking for hours on end each and every night, much to Melanie's delight and the detriment of Freddie's sleep schedule.

The restaurant itself was somewhat crowded with a relatively sedate crowd of mid-afternoon corporate suits. As per usual, the party of four walked in off the street with no reservation, past the hostess stand, and directly to the private dining room. Such were the perks when you were Carmine's nieces.

The dining room was set for an intimate lunch for eight. Carly was confused. She had figured that Freddie and Melanie would likely join them, but this was a bit excessive.

Entering the dining room, Carly was greeted by virtually everyone in her world that mattered. Freddie and Melanie were there, bearing balloons and an overly large teddy bear. Spencer had somehow managed to truck in the Bottle Bot, which was tucked away in the corner. Unbeknownst to Carly, Spencer's second most famous sculpture, after his ill-fated Fan of Hammers, had been sold for an unheard-of five thousand dollars – his highest sale to date – to Melanie Benson, by way of her publishing arm, Mythical Music.

Carly entered the room only to be enveloped in a smothering hug by her sister-in-law, who squealed with joy.

"CARLY!"

Carly Shay beamed. Sam, ever the bodyguard, pushed her sister in the chest, separating her from the brunette.

"Alright, alright, already…"

As Carly struggled to catch her breath, Melanie, ever the hostess, ran to the doorway to usher in the two guests who were apparently running just a few minutes behind schedule.

Sam was shocked to see their latest guests. She had half expected to see them, though not necessarily this way. They had kept in contact, but could never make their schedules match up of late, given Shelby's fight schedule and Sam and Carly's other plans. They talked perhaps twice a week, but hadn't seen each other since the wedding.

Sam gave her old high school friend the once-over, casting a half derisive smirk at her frenemy, Shelby Marx.

"Hey Marx, What are you feeding her? Looks like she's put on a couple of pounds, if you ask me. I would've thought she'd be eating that rabbit food you train on."

Shelby Marx, much like Sam Puckett herself, was short tempered as a caged pit bull. Her lip curled reflexively into a half snarl. Carly was pre-occupied making small talk with Wendy, who had just recently wrapped Freddie Benson into a tight hug.

"Oh, you sweet, sweet boy…"

Melanie, being the only one of the group in the vicinity, threw herself into the fray to prevent the mother of all throw-downs. Her tone was urgent, yet sweet.

"Samantha…"

"Is there a problem, Princess?"

Melanie was sweet as she pulled Sam from Shelby Marx.

"There'll be less of one if you come with me… Let's go see Carly…"

_**A SHORT WHILE LATER…**_

After pleasantries were exchanged and a war between Team Puckett and Team Marx had been averted, Freddie and Melanie Benson played the roles of host and hostess to their sisters' family and friends. After thanking them for coming and being so wonderfully generous during the planning process, it was time to hear from Carly, as she had something very special to share with everyone.

Carly stood up to speak, tears flowing down her cheeks. She opened her mouth only to shut it again. She was too hoarse for the words to come out. Sam, her arm around Carly's lower back, spoke instead.

"As you might have already guessed, Carls and I are having a kid… You guys are really too much. This means a lot. Thanks."

Carly rested her head on her partner's shoulder, when she realized that Wendy was crying too. She had done the math in her head. She let her good manners go out the window and interrupted Sam's little speech.

"Oh my God… We're both due a month apart!"

The crowd fell silent. Every eye in the room fell on Wendy and Shelby Marx. Carly Shay finally found her voice.

"WHAT?"

Carly knew that she and Sam would need to have Shelby and Wendy over for coffee tonight. It was well past time to catch up.


	5. iTeach Shelby Marx

**iTeach Shelby Marx**

Sam Puckett woke up with a start. Against her heart's advice, she'd left Carly alone in her childhood bed at Bushwell and had fallen asleep on the living room sofa huddled in a loose mess with Wendy. This clearly didn't sit well with Shelby Marx, who made her way down the stairs from the third floor to see her partner sleepily winding Sam Puckett's blonde curls in her fingers.

That tore it. Sam Puckett had to die.

Shelby snatched Sam up with both hands, tearing her from Wendy and sleep, speaking to her in a growl loud enough to be heard, but low enough so as not to wake her partner. It showed restraint on Shelby's part. It was obvious that she would rather have been screaming.

"LOOK! HANDS OFF, PUCKETT… ISN'T IT ENOUGH TO HAVE CARLY SHAY? YOU WANT WHAT I HAVE TOO? JUST BECAUSE SHE HAD A THING FOR YOU IN SCHOOL DOESN'T…"

Even torn from sleep, Sam Puckett's invisible ninja skills, honed on the streets of Seattle, trumped Shelby Marx's manicured cage fighting techniques. Shelby fell backwards across the coffee table, thanks to a well placed sweep kick that caught her behind the kneecap. Now it was Sam's turn to rant. She needed to set the record straight.

"Look here, Bitch… I wasn't about to bed down with Carls – not that my relationship with her is _any of your goddamn business_ – given her condition. Wendy and I just sat and talked. You're seeing what you want to see… and what do you mean she had a thing for me? Rule number one, Marx… Don't you dare open a Pandora's box you can't close… because I _will_ take you apart!"

Shelby stared up at her from where she had fallen.

"Are you stupid, Puckett? Wendy was crushing on you _hard_ all through high school…"

In a display of compassion, Sam extended her hand to Shelby.

"Get up. We need to go for a walk."

Sam, though rumpled, was accustomed to sleeping in her clothes. She had made it to the door and had thrown on her leather jacket by the time Shelby had finished putting herself back together.

_**HALF AN HOUR LATER…**_

Shelby Marx walked through the park with Sam Puckett at first light. Neither woman had set foot here since the evening of Carly and Sam's wedding. They walked close and spoke in hushed tones. Anyone passing by would easily mistake the two for the oldest and dearest of friends.

"Look, Marx… You fight great, but I'm a great fighter. There's a difference between what you do and what I've _had to do_. You fight because somebody pays you. I've fought to survive. You're good, but frankly, you're out of your league…"

Shelby took offense to this. She was the youngest champion in CFC history – male or female.

"Sam, You've seen what I can do…"

"True, but what you do to some Russian chick standing eight inches away from you is a hell of a lot different from what I do…"

Sam spent the next twenty minutes explaining to Shelby in explicit and gesticulating detail exactly what made her the steely invisible ninja that she'd become. She'd spared nothing. She knew that, in order for her and Shelby to squash this thing, Marx needed to know everything. She would always love Wendy – but as her fellow Ridgeway Bulldog – nothing more or less.

"God… Sam, I'm sorry…"

Without thinking too much about it, Shelby took Sam Puckett's hand in her own, the same way she did with Wendy's when they went on their evening walks together. Before she realized it, her fingers had intertwined with Sam's. They fit together well, but not nearly as perfectly as hers and Wendy's did. It made Sam feel strange – to have someone other than her Cupcake touch her this way – but she tolerated it just the same.

The tall brunette looked down at the slight, yet muscular blonde. Her hazel-green eyes met the piercing blue gaze that Carly Shay had loved her entire life. Part of her wanted to kill this woman for moving in on the one she loved, while her other half flirted with the notion of stealing a kiss, solely to see what it was about this mysterious blonde that both Carly Shay and her own partner found so appealing. She knew she couldn't. She looked deep into Sam Puckett's eyes, searching out her soul. Shelby spoke, not giving any forethought to her words.

"Sam, I… you know… If we hadn't spent all this time hating each other for stupid reasons… we might've been…"

Shelby stopped short, choking down her emotions.

"Friends." Sam finished. "I'd like that."

Shelby Marx snaked her arm low around the blonde's waist, just as she did every night with Wendy. Sam allowed it. Shelby, for all her bravado and arrogance, was gentle, like the Cupcake. The unlikely pair walked together, arm in arm, talking quietly together about life, love, and what the future might hold for the Marx and Puckett families.

_**LATER THAT MORNING, AT THE GYM… **_

Sam grunted, talking trash to Shelby, a right cross slamming into her temple.

"That the best you got, Marx? My mama hit me harder than that!"

Shelby attempted to sweep kick Sam off of her feet. Sam skillfully avoided it as easily as skipping rope.

"YOU'RE NOT LEARNING! START PAYING ATTENTION!"

Sam caught Shelby in the face with a flurry of punches, absorbed mercifully by her headgear. One final uppercut caught the brunette on the chin, sending her to the canvas. Sam stood over her opponent for a long moment, gloating over her success.

She looked up to Wendy, followed by Carly, staring at her from outside the ring. Both women looked hurt. Before Sam could explain, Shelby Marx was on her feet, shaking the ring rust from her brain. She spat out her mouth guard, explaining for the both of them.

"Ladies… it's... Sam and I've had a bit of a morning, and well, if I don't train with the best fighter in Seattle, how will I be able to face the best in the world?"

Carly seemed to accept Shelby at face value, but it clearly didn't sit well with Wendy that her partner made a living at the expense of her beautiful body. It was further complicated by the fact that she still, on whatever level, cared for Sam Puckett, despite her recent marriage to Carly Shay. Wendy locked eyes with Shelby, instantly wanting to run into the ring and hold her.

"Shelby… Honey…"

"Wendy, it's okay, really… It's just a sparring session that got a little heated… We'll talk about all of this later, I promise…"

Carly looked to Sam, not needing to say anything more than her name.

"Cupcake, it's like she said… We're cool now, really… I love you…"

The combatants left the ring, removing headgear and gloves, rejoining their partners. They needed to all have a good long talk. After putting their issues to rest earlier this morning, it had become clear to both Shelby and Sam that the Marx and Puckett families would be intertwined from this point forward. They had what it took to be the very, very best of friends.


	6. iGroovy Smoothie

**iGroovy Smoothie**

The two couples occupied the far corner booth at the Groovy Smoothie, enjoying the relative peace and quiet that came from choosing a relatively obscure time to wander in for an early lunch.

Carly, Sam, Shelby, and Wendy sat and talked, doing all they could to attract as little attention as was possible. Carly rested her head on Sam's chest, stretching out in the booth with Wendy doing the same against Shelby on the opposite side. They each completed the other and fit together comfortably. Carly yawned sleepily, despite the fact that it was barely lunchtime. She turned a sleepy eye to her friend, who had to be the only person in the history of the Groovy Smoothie besides T-Bo foolish enough to pair a Strawberry Splat smoothie wit a large kosher dill pickle. Normally, Carly would have found the image quite revolting; knowing that Wendy was with child, it seemed to make sense. Sam Puckett, who had spent her formative years eating just about anything, spoke up, knowing that Carly wouldn't.

"Honestly? That's more than a little gross, Wendy…"

Shelby's partner had now moved on to alternating between her own onion rings and Shelby's fries. Shelby shot her new friend a look and raised her eyebrow.

"Just wait… You'll see…"

Carly muttered sleepily in Shelby's direction.

"Can't… Mama Puckett's food…"

She never finished the thought. Sleep overtook her as she snuggled deeper into Sam's chest. Sam thought that this was instantly adorable, precious, unnerving, and slightly inappropriate. She worried unnecessarily over Carly since officially becoming Mama Puckett. If nothing else, she wanted the next nine months to be the easiest and most pampered of her prissy little Cupcake's life.

Shelby smirked at the blonde.

"Wendy does that a lot. Are you nervous?"

Sam denied it.

"Come on, Puckett, you can level with me. It's okay if it scares the hell out of you. I'm not a hundred percent cool with all of this myself, but it's what I signed on for."

Sam nodded, both in approval and understanding, but also to let Shelby know that Wendy was zoning out.

Shelby hadn't initially noticed her partner's breathing growing shallow, but Sam was right – Wendy's eyes were fluttering as she fought a losing battle with her eyelids. Shelby gently ran her finger along Wendy's cheek, wiping away a dab of barbecue sauce. Sam Puckett stifled a laugh.

"Shut up, Puckett…"

The playful banter continued between the former frenemies for a long moment, content in the knowledge that that part of their life was behind them. They would now strive to be fast and lifelong friends. They both knew that their partners – and their unborn children – would demand it of them.

_**AN HOUR AND SEVERAL CHEESEBURGERS LATER…**_

Carly stirred sleepily, finally waking completely. She had forgotten where she was. Waking to Shelby Marx, Wendy, Freddie, and Melanie gave her quite a start. The first voice she heard as her eyes came in to focus belonged to her sister-in-law.

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty…"

Carly was confused as heck.

"Mel? Freddie?"

Melanie offered an explanation as her husband was gawking over Shelby Marx, who, for whatever reason, had greeted him with _'How's it hangin', Raisin Toast?'._ Melanie knew that Shelby Marx and Wendy were a couple, but anyone that close to _her_ man made her momentarily forget her manners. She glared at the prizefighter. It took her husband's eyes to remind her why they had shown up in the first place. Melanie had wanted to bring Sam and Carly several advance copies of her CD and Sam had texted her, saying that they were at the Groovy Smoothie. Melanie figured that lunch with her husband and sisters was reason enough to break away from a meeting with her accountant, lawyer, and agent. Mythical Melanie had officially become a State of Washington corporation.

Carly didn't want to move from the comfortable space she'd burrowed in to Sam's chest, but she knew that she needed to be sociable. She looked to Melanie with sleepy eyes and spoke is the soft, lilting voice that only Sam typically heard.

"Hey…"

Melanie smiled and forced her way in next to her sister.

"Scoot, Samantha…"

Shelby Marx stifled a laugh.

"Twins… never would've thought the world was a big enough place for more than one of you, Puckett…"

Freddie pulled a chair alongside the table, close enough to Melanie to reach out and take her by the hand. Wendy spoke next, by far more awake than Carly. She was doing her very best to make friends with Sam's twin sister, whom she'd only met at the wedding.

"You know, you're _so_ lucky… so far as boys go, you've got one of the best."

Melanie flashed a million-dollar, perfect smile.

"Thanks, Wendy… So how are you?"

"Sleepy and hungry all the time, but I'm doing okay… Do you two want kids?"

The color drained out of Freddie Benson's face at the mere mention of children. He would love them, of course, but it was still not a comfortable subject, considering present company. Melanie interjected, knowing that her man was less than keen on the subject. She deflected it as diplomatically as she could.

"You know, right now, it's just not even a consideration… between school and music, I don't really feel like I have time for me and Freddie – although I promise I'll be the best Auntie I can be…"

Sam shot her sister a wry smile. She put her down the only way she dared now – totally tongue-in-cheek.

"But of course! You always have to be the best at everything!"

Shelby still didn't know the dynamics of the Puckett twinship well enough to know that this was now the way that Sam and Melanie played with one another, so she simply held her tongue. Melanie Benson had become one of Shelby and Wendy's new favorite people simply by virtue of the fact that she spoke her mind and had a wonderfully upbeat personality. She simply seemed to complement the rest of the group quite nicely.

Wendy was admiring the CD that Melanie had just set in the center of the table. The blonde had passed additional copies to her sister, Carly, Shelby, and her husband. Each of these was personally inscribed, to their respective owners.

It took a second for it to register in Carly Shay's brain that Mama was crying. She craned her neck at an awkward angle to look up into Sam's face. There were fat tears rolling down Sam's cheeks. She had just read the liner notes.

* * *

><p><em><strong>For my sister – <strong>_

_**I love you Samantha, I am all that I am because of you.**_

_**Mel**_

* * *

><p>Sam Puckett loved her sister and was surrounded by everyone who meant anything to her. After years on the wrong side of the tracks, Seattle's only ninja was beginning to feel what it meant to belong.<p> 


	7. iChange My Name

**iChange My Name**

"Honey, I'm home…"

Sam Puckett was nauseated by how stupid, cliché, and hetero it all sounded coming out of her mouth. She tossed her jacket effortlessly onto the hook beside the door as she walked into Carly's – now their – apartment.

"How's Mama's little Cupcake?"

Carly was in lounge mode, sprawled out on the sofa in sweats and a t-shirt, _Girly Cow_ on TV. It was obvious, even early on, that motherhood would take its toll on her. Six weeks into her pregnancy, it was clear that Carly'd put some weight onto her typically rail thin frame and was beginning to expand around the middle.

The brunette lolled her head backwards, gazing upside-down at the object of her affection.

"Hey…"

Sam smiled softly as Carly continued talking.

"How was your day? Mine was okay. Except for spending about an hour at the DMV and running a few other errands, it was pretty quiet…"

Sam was manic, immediately covering the distance between the front door and Carly's side.

"WHAT? Who said you could leave the house unassisted?"

Her partner's concern for her and their unborn child was touching, but Carly was somewhat hurt.

"Sam! I'm barely a month pregnant… It's not like I need to be escorted around the city…"

"You do when you're my Cupcake, Cupcake…"

Carly felt put-upon, but knew that Sam only had her wellbeing in mind.

"Sam…" she whined.

Sam settled in next to the brunette on the sofa, gently patting her stomach. She spoke in a sweet, gentle voice – the voice she only used with Carly and her sister.

"So what was so important that you ran all over the city? And your birthday isn't for months, so I know your license is still good…"

Rolling on to her hip, Carly snatched her purse from the coffee table. Sam felt her heart jump into her throat with overprotective worry.

"Here…" Carly said smiling.

Carly passed Sam a small card from her wallet. Sam recognized it instantly.

"Your driver's license… Big whup…"

Carly shook her head.

"Look closer, you ham hock…"

Sam took a second glance at Carly's license. It took a second, but she finally saw what Carly had meant for her to see.

* * *

><p><em><strong>CARLOTTA T. SHAY-PUCKETT<strong>_

* * *

><p>Sam was beside herself. She fought back tears.<p>

"Cupcake…"

Carly put her hand on her partner's knee.

"Sam, we're a family now… I promised to be yours and yours completely. We share _everything_. The least I could do was share your name…"

While they weren't legally married, so far as the State of Washington was concerned, Carly had made sure that they took advantage of life in one of the country's most gay-friendly cities and had put Sam and herself on the state's domestic partner registry. It was this type of self-identification that she and Sam both hated, in that it was so unnecessary and unfair. In her eyes and the eyes of anyone who mattered worth a damn, she and Sam were as much a married couple as Freddie and Melanie Benson – with one minor variation on that theme.

Sam Puckett was touched by Carly's commitment.

"Sweetheart, this was _totally _unnecessary… at least until after the baby's born…"

"Sam…"

Carly took her blonde by the hand.

"We're in this together… Training wheels, scraped knees, bullies, high school… whatever…"

Sam smirked.

"Hey! We Pucketts don't get bullied… and… Oh God, Carls… I don't even want to think…"

Carly knew where Sam's mind was going.

"Sam, our kid will be fine…"

Sam continued ranting, for whatever it was worth. Carly knew her lady-love was being irrational, but she'd known Sam Puckett long enough to know that it was better to simple ride out the wave of irrational thought than to challenge the blonde's skewed belief system. This way, nobody got hurt and nothing got broken.

"I don't know how to do this, Carls!"

There were fat tears rolling from Sam Puckett's eyes.

"Like I do, Sam? We'll figure it out together… You jump, I jump."

The blonde knew she needed to be strong. She knew she wasn't the one in a vulnerable condition. She set her jaw and tried to behave better.

"My kid isn't going to be some loser juvenile delinquent like I was… I just…"

Carly loved her with all that she had, but Sam Puckett was beginning to try her patience.

"Don't you _dare_ talk that way about yourself ever again, Samantha Puckett! You're you and I love you just as you are! Our child will be our child – the best and worst of both of us – but we'll know how to handle it, because that's what we do… We work together…"

Sam knew that the Cupcake was right. She held her close, resting her wet face deep against Carly's chest. She was instantly soft and caring.

"I'm not hurting you, am I? Not too heavy?"

Carly chuckled, sounding a bit more like the Idiot Farmgirl than intended.

"You're stupid…"

Sam poked her gently in the ribs.

"Watch it, Shay!"

Carly giggled.

"That's Missus Puckett to you, you big, dumb meat stick!"

This was the only time that Sam could be insulted and have it not cut deep. Insults from Carly Shay were a bit like a pillow fight. The words were there, but they didn't have teeth. There was no hatred, drunkenness, or vitriol behind them. Carly could fuss and curse at Sam – call her every name in the book – and she would still be her precious, sweet little Cupcake. After a long moment, Sam raised her head, kissing Carly flush on the chin with pink, plump boo-boo lips.

"Carls?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you... I don't want you to ever forget that."

Carly Shay took a deep breath. She was contented.

"Samantha?"

The blonde knew she was in trouble. Only her sister had the stones to call her by her full name. She let the Cupcake keep talking.

"You're the best. I could never have had the courage to do everything I've done in my life without having you in it. You've always been my crazy blonde meat-loving best friend. You always have been and you will always be. That much won't ever change. Thank you for helping me see who I was meant to be, what love really meant, and for being just crazy enough to jump into the deep end of the pool with both feet and help me through all of this…"

For a split second, Sam wondered if Carls had taken a hit or two of that Wacky Gas. She was talking complete foolishness. She no longer cared. She took the brunette into her arms and held her tight.

"Cupcake, I'd have it no other way."

Resting her head gently into the soft part of Carly's chest, Sam Puckett let her eyes fall shut. It had been a long day and she was right where she needed to be.


	8. iSit Down With Uncle Carmine

**iSit Down With Uncle Carmine**

That Friday afternoon, Melanie Benson strode into _Il Terrazzo Carmine_ dressed to kill in a black business suit, black designer sunglasses, and matching boots, flanked by her attorney and business manager. She looked very much the diva.

Uncle Carmine had been expecting her. He, too, was dressed impeccably. Gone was the proprietor of one of Seattle's finest Italian eateries. Now, he was simply the Boss. Melanie leapt into his arms, speaking sweetly in her family's native tongue. She kissed him on both cheeks. It was obvious that she loved him dearly.

The staff began whispering to themselves. They were, naturally, wary of outsiders. It would be all too fitting if Carmine Puckett's house was brought down from within. Carmine could hear what they were saying and was none-too-pleased. The insinuation that his precious, beautiful niece would come here to do him wrong was repugnant. On any other day and in any other situation, such insolence would be dealt with severely. This was not that day.

Carmine, dressed in a finely tailored black suit, turned and rebuked the assembled staff in terse, angry Italian. He was furious, but the fire raged below the surface. Carmine Puckett hadn't become what he was by losing his composure. The message was clear. Back off.

Melanie glared at the tall young man who couldn't hold his tongue in her uncle's presence. Her uncle was no saint, granted, but that level of disrespect towards a man that meant the world to her made her blood boil. She was a Puckett by birth, so she kept it all inside.

Carmine ushered his niece and her entourage into the private dining room. Melanie took a seat, shooing her professional handlers off to one side. She had made it clear that if she wanted their input, she would ask for it.

For the next twenty minutes, uncle and niece conversed intimately in fluent Italian. She knew all that she needed was her uncle's signature. She knew that this was a non-negotiation. Her uncle would never deny her anything, provided that she could offer him a compelling argument to show that what Melanie wanted was in their mutual best interests.

Melanie motioned with her left hand over her shoulder. On cue, her attorney withdrew a hefty looking contract from his briefcase, setting it on the table next to her, inches from her iced tea.

He opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced by the piercing blue eyes that looked out at him from behind her oversized black Dolce & Gabbana frames. She was serious as a heart attack. Speak only when you are spoken to.

He offered her a pen from the breast pocket of his jacket. She took it, uncapped it, and signed her full name to the paper with a flourish. She lifted the pen, watching the dark ink from the fountain pen seep slowly into the heavy paper. The rush she got from this moment rivaled any moment in her life, aside from her very first kiss with Freddie Benson. She passed the document across the table. Carmine signed the document without reading a single word. If his niece came to him with a way of accomplishing multiple goals with the stroke of a pen, that was all that he needed. Carmine Puckett was Old School. He was a businessman, first and foremost. True, some of his endeavors operated outside of the law, but he was a businessman nonetheless. What he had just done might be seen as being reckless – The Old Man losing his touch. Carmine didn't care. The first rule in his line of work was quite simple: The Boss's decisions were never to be questioned.

Carmine crossed the double T's in his last name with a flourish and set the pen aside. While complex, the contract that he had just signed was essentially a quitclaim deed, selling _Il Terrazzo Carmine_, to that point a standalone business, to a newly-formed Washington State limited liability company – Gemini Restaurant Group – a wholly owned subsidiary of Mythical Enterprises, Inc., which was, in turn, a corporation under the sole control of Melanie Puckett-Benson.

Melanie was all about family. There was a method to her madness. In exchange for selling the restaurant which he had built up over the span of the past quarter century for the token price of a single dollar, Carmine would stay on to oversee the restaurant's operations at a specific salary. Melanie knew that this restaurant meant the world to her uncle. It was his one legitimate business venture – untouched by his _other_ income. She had done all of this very deliberately. Her uncle's restaurant, along with Melanie's other outside interests, could be self-funded via her music career. She could closely control things with the stroke of a pen. Things had to be just so.

Melanie looked across the table to her uncle. He had – on paper, at least – given up everything, all at her behest.

Carmine Puckett had begun the day as the proprietor of one of the Emerald City's best-known restaurants – with a reputation to uphold. Now, within the course of an hour, Carmine had gone from the man behind the desk to a cog in a corporate wheel. He could see that his niece – the quiet, unassuming one – had inherited all of the forward-thinking business acumen that he had tried to instill over the years. He knew that his baby was in more than capable hands. As the woman calling the shots, Melanie would defer on everything – she was smart enough to delegate responsibility to those she trusted implicitly.

Melanie loved Carmine dearly, and what he had done for her showed that he no longer saw her as a little girl. It was true that she would always be his delicate little flower, but he had begun to see her as a grown, competent, intelligent, articulate woman. She reached across the table and took his large, masculine hand in her dainty, delicate one. She held it for a long moment before drawing it close, kissing his ring. They may be family, but, like all those engaged in business matters with him, she had to show him the respect which he was due. She spoke quietly to him. It was the only English she had spoken the entire day.

"I love you."

He knew.

Melanie smiled as she glanced down at the final paragraphs of their now signed and sealed agreement. While Carmine would be retained on a salary, he was now essentially free to retire to his winter home in Key Biscayne. This proviso had been included at Melanie Benson's insistence. Her uncle deserved the peace and quiet that his line of work rarely afforded. The following paragraph, also crafted at Melanie Benson's express direction, created the position of General Manager for _Il Terrazzo Carmine_ and had stipulated a very generous salary. The section also named the specific person to be hired for this position as one Samantha Puckett.

Melanie walked to her uncle, embraced him, and kissed him profusely. She would always be his little girl.


	9. iGo Into Shock

**iGo Into Shock**

Sam paced the halls of Seattle University Medical Center so frantically that Melanie thought her sister would wear a groove into the floor.

"Samantha, please… She's in perfectly capable hands… and why are you not in there?"

Sam blushed. Only two people in the world – Melanie and Carly – knew that, deep down, Sam Puckett was incredibly modest. The notion of seeing her Cupcake in any stage of undress in any place other than their home caused Sam's stomach to tie itself in knots.

Sam babbled in a language that only her sister could understand. It was the same made-up language they'd spoken only to one another as small children. This was the language of their innermost secrets. Freddie Benson looked on as his wife and sister-in-law regressed into their own childhood. He couldn't help but smile. He hurt for Sam. He knew that this was as awkward for Sam as it was for him and for Melanie. Sam, for the first time in her life, couldn't solve this problem by beating it into submission or simply running away from it. This was a situation that needed to be confronted head on.

"Samantha, screw your damn foolish modesty… go in there and be with Carly, for pity's sake!"

She opened her mouth to protest, but Melanie had thought this through.

"Go on or else I'll tell Freddie to kiss you… on the lips!"

Freddie Benson had gone ashen. He couldn't believe his ears. Sam Puckett was beet red with embarrassment.

"Fine…"

Sam reluctantly knocked on the door to Carly's exam room, waited, and quietly entered.

To Sam's surprise, this wasn't anything like Carly's previous appointment. It was simply Carly, Dr. Sharkey, and equipment that did Sam had no idea what.

Carly was radiant. She chuckled out loud, her t-shirt pulled up to expose her midsection only.

"Is this what you were so afraid of?"

Sam nodded, like an innocent little girl, still incredibly red faced.

"Sam! You're so stupid sometimes…"

Carly loved teasing her this way. She and only she knew how much of a girly-girl her blonde partner truly could be.

"I'm sorry, Cupcake… I guess I still have the habit of tuning out things that feel too much like school…"

_**TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES LATER…**_

"Well… hmmm… Oh my…"

Sam Puckett was no med student – far from it – but from where she sat, hearing _'Oh my'_ from the Cupcake's lady-doctor didn't exactly inspire confidence. She responded in typical Puckett fashion, much to Carly's embarrassment.

"What exactly do you mean, _Oh my_? What's wrong with my baby's baby?"

Carly scolded Sam. She hadn't sensed anything was the matter until Sam had opened her big, dumb, blonde trap.

Dr. Sharkey, sensing she had inadvertently caused a spat that would elevate her patient's blood pressure, thought she had better clarify her previous statement.

"Oh mercy… What I mean to say… There's nothing wrong with the child _per se_, although I do have a question for the both of you…"

Carly's palms began to sweat. Sam felt physically sick; hanging on the doctor's every word.

"Is there any history of multiples in either of your families?"

It took a minute for Carly to decode what was being asked of her. Sam beat her to the punch. The words came out much harsher than she'd intended.

"You _have_ met my sister, remember?"

Dr. Sharkey continued undeterred.

"Well, yes… but beyond your sister, is there any history that you're aware of?"

"Not that I know – "

Carly cut her partner off.

"My mom was a twin, why?"

Sam sat there, Carly's hand in hers, stunned. This was something that the Ghost of Cupcake's Past had never confided in her. Carly, on the other hand, had, until now, never seen the need to.

Dr. Sharkey broke into a bit of a grin pointing to two distinct, if somewhat hazy bright masses on the video monitor.

"It's still a bit too early to tell who's who or what's what, but I must tell you… Congratulations, you are most definitely having twins…"

Carly flushed pink, beaming. Sam immediately dropped Carly's hand, making a beeline for the tall stainless steel trashcan in the corner of the exam room and promptly threw up.

While Sam's sickness was certainly distracting, Dr. Sharkey was a professional and used to any manner of responses from parents-to-be. She ignored Sam and focused, instead, on her partner.

"Is she usually like this?"

Carly smirked. She was in shock herself, but tried to contain herself.

"Yeah, Sam's kinda… well… Sam's _special…_"

Sam had finally stopped retching, wiped her mouth, and politely slunk out of the room, thoroughly embarrassed. She felt like a heel, leaving her precious Cupcake alone in that room, naked and vulnerable, without Mama there to protect her.

_**HALF AN HOUR LATER…**_

The exam room door yawned slightly, allowing both Sam and Carly to exit gracefully. Sam had come running out earlier that afternoon, bolting straight past her sister and directly into the women's restroom. As she was the only one who could, Melanie Benson broke into a run after her sister. It was clear to her and her alone that her sister had not only been sick, but also crying. Melanie Benson had become the world's foremost expert at reading her sister's tears.

This time, however, Sam led Carly from the exam room, joined only by the fingertips. Carly's curled into Sam's gently, but nothing could separate them. Sam beamed. Her Cupcake wasn't having her baby – she was having her _babies_.

Melanie's eyes caught her twin's. She could read them clearly. The pain and the tumult were over. She was no longer afraid of becoming the second coming of Pam. No one had laid a finger on Sam Puckett in years, although, when need be, Melanie Benson had no qualms about getting a little dirt under her fingernails and verbally slapping some sense into her younger sister. This afternoon had provided her with just such a moment, reminding her sister, in as stern a voice as she could muster, that she was being a melodramatic, stubborn ass and that Carly needed her to be strong, now, more than ever before.

Carly exited the room, flushed and beaming. Her next appointment was scribbled on the card in her jeans pocket. She was all smiles – until seeing Melanie. She hauled off, channeling her inner invisible ninja, and slugged her sister-in-law as hard as she could in the shoulder.

"I hate you…" Carly teased.

Melanie beamed. She had told Carly well over a month ago that she was carrying twins, and that she would put money on it. Carly, of course, thought that it was the famous Puckett eggplant parmesan talking, and had blown it off entirely.

Melanie smiled a perfect, porcelain-white smile at Carly.

"Love you too, Cupcake…"


	10. iHave Daddy Issues

**iHave Daddy Issues**

It was obviously a rough night at Casa de Benson. Freddie loved his wife, although he worried about her on nights like this, when she got into one of her _moods._ He had come home – to the home Melanie had previously shared with Carly and Sam – to find his beautiful blonde pacing the living room and front hallway, ranting and raving into her cell phone. It was the first time that Melanie had spoken to Pam in months. It was clear that Melanie was beyond upset.

"Goddammit, Mother… I think I have the right to know!"

Melanie Benson had always been Pam's _'Good Girl'_, so she felt – after more than twenty years – entitled to a straight answer.

The answers that Pam would give her were cryptic at best, abusive at worst, and the weight of her mother's words crushed her soul. She was sobbing and hyperventilating.

"I… I… I need to… I need to go…"

Melanie ended the call. Her hands were trembling and she had come unglued. There was only one other person who could provide her any answers or peace. She ran down the hall and had locked herself in the converted bedroom that served as her home studio and had formerly been the home away from home to _iCarly_.

Melanie threw herself into one of the beanbags on the floor, snatching her favorite guitar from the stand, and pulling it to her chest, the way she typically held Freddie late at night.

With her free hand, she withdrew her cell phone from her pocket and dialed a familiar phone number. It was all she could think to do.

"Ted… It's… it's Melanie… C.. Can.. Can we talk?"

Ted Franklin was more than happy to oblige. He loved this girl like one of his own. Had things been different, she _would have been_ his own. She had question after question about ancient history. His role was to confirm or deny the awful things that Pam Puckett had just told her.

Ted Franklin, as a man of the cloth, was unable to provide many of the answers that his would-be stepdaughter craved so desperately, but he gave her all the details that he could, as well as those that he felt she could handle. There was no need burdening her with the _whole truth_, such as it was, as he felt it was important that she have something positive to hold onto from the father that she never knew.

The young man who had fathered the Puckett twins, Ted had explained, had been a complete contradiction in terms. He was immensely talented, but also deeply troubled. He had come from a family equally fractured, though they taught him the value of faith. He, like Pam Puckett and Steven Shay, was tormented by his own demons. He had met Pam during one of the many periods when his own marriage was _'off'_, using his words.

Melanie was disturbed to hear that she and her sister, whom she loved beyond words, were the product of this man's extramarital dalliance. She asked the kind man on the other end of the line more probing questions. She needed to know what he knew, although she knew full well that his oath to God prevented him from revealing them.

"Princess…" Franklin began, "You know there are things that I can't say… and beside that, isn't the more important fact that you're here?"

Melanie considered this point for a long moment, agreed that Franklin was right, and let the matter drop. She had one final question. She knew that this was one that Ted could answer; given the way she'd phrased it. She needed a simple answer and nothing more.

"Do you know where I could find him?"

Franklin wasn't stupid. He knew what he was being asked, one way or the other. He was asked one question, but decided to answer another. He considered this girl one of his own children. He didn't want to cause her any pain. He dispatched this as deftly as he could. It broke his heart to have to tell her.

"He… he's since passed on."

As much as this news was a knife in her chest, it was also something of a relief. All those years of not knowing – of thinking her father didn't love her enough to come around – it was a strange relief to know that he wasn't around simply because he _couldn't be._

"Oh, Honey…?"

Ted Franklin hadn't called her _Honey_ in ages.

"Yes?"

He told her all he was comfortable saying. He had never given her the man's name, nor would he, but he felt that she needed to know this much.

"He was an immensely talented musician… You got that much from him, I think…"

Ted Franklin always knew exactly how to lift her spirits. She apologized for the right state that she was in, thanked him, and bade him a good evening. What happened next surprised even her. For the first time since she was a tiny little girl, Melanie told Ted Franklin that she loved him. The words had simply slipped out, but she meant them from the innermost depths of her soul.

She ended the call and picked up her guitar. The Puckett girls had never been good with their emotions. Sam simply shut her's down. Melanie's outlet had always been the music that came to her from she didn't know where. At least now she could thank the father who hadn't truly abandoned her. She felt as though she had labored under a delusion for her entire life. She didn't know what she felt. She was depressed and at peace all in the same moment. Her fingers found the strings and an old song came to her, as if out of a dream. She hadn't heard it in years. She had never played it, but she was always gifted with a savant-like ability to play a piece of music by ear. She wondered for a moment if her father could do that as well. It was too much, and she began to sob. She didn't care. She let the churning sea of emotions wash over her. They needed an outlet, and she simply did what she did best.

* * *

><p>"…<em>What else should I be?<em>..."  
>"…<em>All apologies…"<br>"…What else could I say?.."  
>"…Everyone is gay…"<br>"…What else could I write?..."  
>"…I don't have the right…"<br>"…What else should I be?..."  
>"…All Apologies…"<em>

_"…In the sun…"_  
><em>"…In the sun I feel as one…"<em>  
><em>"…In the sun…"<em>  
><em>"…In the sun…"<em>  
><em>"…Married!..."<em>  
><em>"…Buried!..."<em>

_"…I wish I was like you…"_  
><em>"…Easily amused…"<em>  
><em>"…Find my nest of salt…"<em>  
><em>"…Everything is my fault…"<em>  
><em>"…I'll take all the blame…"<em>  
><em>"…aqua sea foam shame…"<em>

* * *

><p>Melanie felt spent – physically, mentally, and emotionally. She knew that she had bitten off far more than she could possibly chew, and that both Ted Franklin and her mother had tried to spare her this, yet she had insisted. For the first time since Melanie could remember, Pam had behaved truly like an adult and had put one of her girls before herself.<p>

The blonde, an emotionally destroyed mess, summoned all of her strength to leave her guitar behind, safe on display, cross the room, unlock the door, and make her way to bed. She needed the warmth and safety that Freddie provided. Despite what she felt tonight, she knew that everything she had learned tonight could be dealt with at another time. There would always be tomorrow.


	11. iAm There For Wendy

**iAm There For Wendy**

Friday had become _'Doctor Day'_ in the Puckett household, though, thankfully, Carly had no appointment scheduled. She and Sam were, however, headed back to Dr. Sharkey's office at the behest of Shelby Marx. Wendy had become something of a handful of late, and Shelby felt that perhaps a day with her old friends would help curb the mood swings ever so slightly.

Sam had descended the stairs to the first floor while Carly stamped her feet on the second floor landing, throwing a Big Girl Tantrum. The Cupcake was used to getting her way.

"_But Sammmmm….. _I don't wanna!"

"This isn't up for debate, Cupcake, now MOVE!"

Sam wasn't happy.

"Sammie! They make me look fat!"

Sam knew that Tough Love was the only way to make her hardheaded little Cupcake see that she, Sam, knew what was best for her when pregnant-lady hormones clouded her better judgment.

"They do not make you look fat, they make you look pregnant – Big Difference…"

Sam could hear Carly stamp her feet in defiance. Carls had developed a very loud personality.

"I'm going to count to ten, Carlotta…."

Carly knew that this was serious. This was the first time in forever that Sam had used her given name. It was always Carls, Cupcake, Babe, or Sweetheart. It was never _Carlotta_. Carlotta was what The Colonel called her when she was little and in trouble.

Sam hadn't gotten past the count of _4_ before Carls came bounding down the steps and launched herself into Sam's arms. This entire fussy episode had been over Carly's reluctance to wear a pair of elastic-waisted jeans. Despite being well along into her pregnancy, Carly still wanted to dress like a rail-thin senior at Ridgeway High. She was immediately apologetic, clinging to Sam's bright purple t-shirt.

"I'm sorry, Sammie… I promise I'll listen better… no arguments from your Cupcake…"

Sam blushed. She loved the little-girl cuteness that Carly was showing off, but now wasn't the time.

"C'mon, Cupcake. We'll be late if we don't get moving, so you and the kiddos had better get a move-on…"

Carly loved this, even though Sam picked at her. Sam had become what Carly always knew she would be – her big, strong protector. She thought that this was cute. She and Sam were wearing contrasting t-shirts today. It was only recently that Carly had convinced Sam to show her true colors, such as they were, a bit more.

The tall brunette had embraced her identity ages ago and held tightly to it with both hands. Samantha Puckett, on the other hand, preferred a much more _'hands-off'_ approach. Much like Sir Elton John, Sam Puckett never shouted her identity from the rooftops simply because she figured that the world already knew. There were things that simply went without saying. The sky was blue. Birds flew. Fish swam. Sam Puckett loved Carly Shay.

Sam dropped to her knees on the pretense of tying her shoe. The added bonus of a very pregnant Cupcake was not only could she not see her own feet, but she couldn't see Sam's, either. This allowed her ruse to go perfectly undetected.

The blonde was now at stomach level, eyeing Carly's ever-expanding midriff. Without so much as a second thought, Sam planted two quick, gentle kisses in the vicinity of Carly's navel.

"Mama loves you, Cupcakes…"

_**AN HOUR LATER, ACROSS TOWN…**_

Sam found the hallway outside the fourth floor exam rooms to be a much less scary place when she was sharing it with Shelby Marx. The two had quickly become fast friends since their respective partners had been with child. The tall brunette had her head between her knees, clearly worried.

"It'll be okay, Shelby. You're worrying over nothing…"

The prizefighter was wringing her hands. She didn't know. Sam, instantly sensing the appropriate thing to do, took the fighter's battle scarred hands in her own.

"Marx, look… Wendy's going to be fine. She's got the easy job, all things considered… My Cupcake… well, you know…"

Shelby let out a chuckle.

"You know, Puckett… I'm glad I don't hate you…"

Sam took the jab in the spirit it was intended. Shelby Marx was built – inside and out – just like Sam Puckett. They both projected this ice cold exterior to the world, but only those who knew them best knew that they were the warmest, gentlest souls in the entire world. Shelby Marx, like Sam, didn't know how to be a girly-girl. What she'd said to Sam translated into the warmest display of affection the pugilist had to offer to anyone other than her better half.

There was, however, one significant difference between the two. Shelby Marx was forced to live – professionally speaking – in the closet. Where Sam and Carly's relationship was a matter of public record, Shelby Marx was dependant on her sport for a living. Shelby Marx couldn't wear her heart on her sleeve – or rather on her chest – as Sam and Carly were today and announce to the world, by way of her t-shirt, that she was _'Born This Way'_. If any of her opponents ever learned of the picture taped to her dressing room mirror before every fight – the one that showed her and Wendy arm-in-arm on their first date – the world of mixed martial arts would have a field day.

The exam room door swung open, Wendy appearing in the doorway. Shelby scrambled to her feet to support her. Wendy was beaming. Shelby looked to her, demanding to know.

"What? What! _WHAT, ALREADY?_"

A spunky little Cupcake shushed a prizefighter.

"Shelby, Shush!"

Sam Puckett took up for her new friend, flippantly teasing her partner.

"You know, Cupcake, she made some Russian girl's jaw do _this_ one time…"

The face Sam made reduced Carly and their friends to peals of laughter.

Wendy smiled, looping her arms around Shelby's neck.

"It's a girl…"

Shelby Marx was overcome. She grinned from ear to ear, instantly the proud mama of what she knew to be a beautiful baby girl. She only hoped that she – a woman who had lived a very hard life to this point – could offer something of substance to the child Wendy carried. She turned to Carly.

"And how about you guys?"

Sam's brunette flushed.

"We don't find out for a few more weeks, but Wendy and I talked about having a Girls' Night tonight…"

Sam shot her partner _The Look_ and raised her eyebrow.

"And we're _what_, exactly, Cupcake?"

"You know what I mean! Girly stuff…."

Shelby wrapped her new best friend into a quasi-masculine embrace, her arm around Sam's waist loosely.

"Hey Puckett… While these two are off braiding each others' hair, why don't we hit the town ourselves?"

Sam didn't need to say anything. A glance was all that was needed. The couples partnered up again and quietly left. They had better places to be. The Groovy Smoothie was calling them.


	12. iHave A Night Out

**iHave A Night Out**

Carly's apartment was a special place that night. It was, in fact, a full-fledged Girls' Night. What had started as simply two very pregnant ladies planning to spend the evening together, going over lists of baby names, choosing toys and strollers, had somehow morphed into a toned-down version of the Crazy Hat Party. All it had taken was one simple phone call to Mythical Melanie.

Sam's sister, who had become Carly's right-hand woman and partner in crime since getting pregnant, showed up, bouncy and full of energy, bearing movies and pizza. She was beyond ecstatic to see her sister-in-law and her new best lady-friend. She stood in the open doorway, weighed down with packages

"Knock, knock, pregnant ladies!"

Carly giggled. She remembered the night of her first official date with Sam.

"Get in here, you diva!"

The girls erupted into laughter. Melanie loved this on so many levels. The last few days had been stressful to say the very least, and Carly was the break that she needed. She'd grown to love Wendy's infectious personality of late, but Melanie truly loved Carly. This pretty brunette _was_, of course, carrying the next generation of Pucketts about her midsection.

Melanie made her way into the apartment, navigating as best she could. She deposited her purse, loaded down with DVDs, on Carly's coffee table. She juggled a stack of clunky pizza boxes before depositing them on the kitchen island. Feeding a pair of pregnant women plus herself was a difficult proposition, given their various quirks and finicky stomachs. Case in point, Wendy had requested a goat cheese pizza. While this was by no means a stretch, given Uncle Carmine's talents in the kitchen, a lesser person may have wilted under the pressure.

Her hands finally free, the blonde rushed to Carly. She wrapped the brunette into a comfortably firm hug and then dropped to her knees, wrapping her arms loosely around Carly's expanding belly. She cooed into Carly's stomach, beside herself with childlike glee.

"Hello in there, Little People! Auntie Melanie loves you very, very much! Now listen here, you be good, because your mommies are waiting patiently for you…"

The blonde, like her sister, planted a series of soft kisses on Carly's stomach, through her t-shirt. The brunette flushed with embarrassment.

"Mel!"

"Carly!"

"Did you really have to do that?"

Melanie nodded stupidly, looking so very much like Sam when she was being silly.

"Yeah huh!"

Wendy laughed from where she sat on the sofa. It was obvious that Melanie was living vicariously through Carly and Wendy found it absolutely adorable. The blonde had now flounced down next to her on the sofa, careful to give her the appropriate space.

"Hey Wendy!" she said, giving Shelby's partner a gentle hug. "How's it going?"

"I haven't seen my toes in weeks. Does that answer your question?"

The tall brunette shot Melanie a half-serious look. It worked for a second, but she couldn't keep a straight face. Melanie giggled too.

"Uh, hate to break it to you, Sweety, but that kind of goes with the territory. Are you and Shelby excited?"

Wendy answered matter-of-factly.

"I'm on pins and needles, but I think Shelby's scared as Hell…"

Melanie put her hand on Wendy's knee, doing her best to reassure her that all would be well.

_**LATER THAT EVENING…**_

The girls were midway through a real tearjerker, _The Ties That Bind_, which Carly had seen the previous summer with Sam, when Melanie Benson got the shock of her life.

As the sofa was tight quarters to begin with, the blonde felt herself sandwiched between Carly, Wendy, and their precious cargo. She had begun to doze off, her hand gently resting on her sister-in-law's midsection, when she was startled awake.

She had just felt one of Carly's twins kick her. Melanie shrieked out of shock, which caused Carly to do the same. Wendy would have followed suit, but her little girl had done the same. Baby Marx clearly took after Mama Shelby.

Once the initial shock had worn off, Melanie did the only thing that she could think of. She burst into a giggle fit. Carly stared at her.

"And just _what_ is so dang funny?"

Melanie brought herself under control, smiling at Carly, while absentmindedly giving Wendy's stomach a gentle pat.

"Nothing… It's just... if I didn't know better, I'd say your little munchkins just introduced themselves to one another for the first time…"

It sounded ridiculous, but adorable all in the same breath. It was a very _Melanie_ thing to say, and Carly thought that it made sense, although the odds were astronomical at best. The Pucketts and the Marxs were now as close as any friends could be, so there was no doubt in her mind that their kids would grow up the closest of friends. Carly blushed, lost in her daydream. The thought of her twins growing up with Uncle Spencer, Uncle Freddie, Auntie Mel, Auntie Wendy and Auntie Shelby warmed her heart. She and Sam were due to learn the babies' genders next week, but, in her heart of hearts, Carly hoped for girls. It wasn't that she was _averse_ to raising a little boy – far from it – but as a woman, she simply felt more at ease being the mommy of little girls. She just simply thought a little Sam or a little Melanie would be easier to handle that a tiny version of Spencer or Freddie.

Melanie startled Carly out of her daydream and brought her back to the movie. Carly couldn't possibly care less. She'd only seen half the film the first time anyway. Either way, it was more about the company than anything else tonight. It was nice to unwind for a change.

_**ACROSS TOWN…**_

Sam had brought Shelby down to the water. They were on the edge of downtown, where Sam's _other_ other half spent nearly every waking moment, being made over into a star. The twins would come here when they were small, when Pam was having one of her _'episodes'_. It was something that Sam and Carly had in common from the very earliest, though they never realized it – a love of the water. The two mismatched partners in crime sat on the hood of Shelby's restored Mustang, looking out over the black water.

"Ya know, Puckett, this _is_ kind of nice…"

Sam was lost inside her own head, thinking about becoming a parent.

"Hey, Shel?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think our kids will be cool with each other? You know, and not make our mistakes?"

Shelby Marx chuckled. Leave it to Sam to worry like a mother hen.

"You sound like Wendy…"

"Just sayin'…"

"Sam, kids will be kids. Hopefully, between the four of us, we can instill something in them that helps along the way, but so far as we're concerned, _we're_ all friends, so you'd think that the kids will probably grow up as the best of friends. Stop worrying so much…"

Sam blushed, even in the starlight.

"Yeah, well, you know my story… so it's a little… you know…"

Shelby understood completely. She hadn't become a fighter by choice, either. She looked at Sam and took a deep breath.

"Oh, Puckett?"

"Yo!"

"By the way…"

Shelby Marx momentarily lost focus and was no longer paying attention to their conversation. Sam's hand was in hers. She leaned in and gave Sam a gentle peck on the cheek.

Sam Puckett went rigid.

"Thanks for everything…"

Shelby smiled coyly at the blonde. She hadn't meant it to be anything bordering on the romantic, as they both knew that they had mated for life. It was simply Shelby being the Shelby Marx that no one but Wendy got to see. Beneath the trophies, championship belts, and the robes was Shelby Marx the woman. Shelby Marx the woman had once been Shelby Marx the scared little girl. She had simply let her guard down and was comfortable with the one she least expected.


	13. iLay Down The Law

**iLay Down the Law**

Melanie Benson raced around the first floor of the home she shared with Freddie like a chicken whose head had been lopped off. It was his job to rein her in.

"Relax, Sweetheart… It's not that major…"

"Speak for yourself! Everything was in there! I had a three-month head start! Now what am I going to do?"

She had lost track of her handmade leather portfolio, which contained artwork, notes, scribbles, doodles, lyrics for new songs, and a CD of the few new tracks that she had laid down in her home studio, with her wonderful husband engineering. She had been so consumed by the search this morning that she was still only partially dressed.

He whistled at her, sing-song, from across the room. He was holding up her brown leather folder, which had somehow gotten left next to their armchair in the far corner of the room. It was easy to have missed, especially when one was racing around the room like a crazed, blonde spitfire.

She ran to him, so exuberant that she leapt into his arms, her legs around his waist. She kissed him, reminding him why he was the most wonderful man in the world.

"Alright… Alright… I didn't do anything!"

She giggled, her stocking feet finding the floor again.

"Yes you did… You saved me… _My Hero!_"

She was being overly dramatic, and for good reason. She wanted no part of this business meeting today to discuss the production schedule for her second album. She had been running around at a break-neck pace for the past six weeks. She simply wanted a day to herself, to sleep in with Freddie, and be a normal couple.

"Go on now, go…"

Freddie swatted his wife playfully across the backside. She certainly didn't mind.

_**TWO HOURS LATER, DOWNTOWN…**_

Melanie Benson sat, her husband at her side, at the far end of the conference table in the twenty-second floor office suite belonging to her record label. She did her best to hold back her emotions. She knew that she held all the cards. She was not contractually obligated to return to the studio to begin production on her follow-up album for another six months. The collection of suits at the opposite end of the table were laying out plans for a concert tour spanning North America, as well as stops in the Pacific Rim and Europe.

Mythical Melanie was having none of it. She knew from the get-go that she held all the cards. She was a Puckett by birth. She would do what it took to get them to come around to her way of thinking, regardless of what that might be. She waved them off dismissively.

"That's all very nice, boys, but remind me again why I'm here? According to my contract, the only thing I am obligated to, outside of the _America Sings_ concert tour dates, is the album release…"

"Miss Puckett…"

Melanie would _not_ be interrupted.

"That's _Missus Benson_, Thank You Very Much!"

Point well taken.

"Missus Benson…" the suit corrected himself, "if I may, why are you averse to the dates as proposed?"

Mel squeezed Freddie's hand a bit harder than she'd intended. It was clear that they were a united front. She glanced to her left, nodding to her agent. She wasn't about to deal with anymore of this. This was what she paid him to deal with. The look on her face told all parties concerned that this was one hundred percent, absolutely non-negotiable.

"Missus Benson wishes that you would reconsider the dates. It isn't that she doesn't appreciate what this company has done for her, it's simply that, due to family concerns, she wishes to postpone any concert dates or other promotional appearances not related to the CD release for the next four to six months."

Melanie smirked. It was wonderful to flex her negotiation muscles outside of Uncle Carmine's back room.

"Excuse me?"

Freddie could hear Melanie grind her teeth. _This wasn't going to fly._ That tore it. He could see that things were about to get real fighty, real fast.

She glared across the table.

"_Family concerns_ means it's a family matter!"

For a second, Freddie wondered if he'd mistakenly married Sam. Melanie continued, ice cold.

"My sister is expecting twins. I would like some time to spend with the new additions to our family before being on tour for the next three months. That's all I'm asking for, no more, no less."

Freddie was impressed. He knew just how much the impending arrival of the twins meant to Melanie. He had half expected her to launch herself across the table and strangle the record exec with his own necktie. He chuckled to himself when he realized his mistake.

_Wrong sister._

_**AT BUSHWELL PLAZA…**_

Carly rested on the sofa. Sam had been good enough to leave her with the remote and a good book while she ran errands. The prissy little brunette nearly jumped out of her skin when Sam's key turned in the lock.

"Hey Cupcake…"

"Jeez, Sam… Don't do that!"

"What? Come home with the groceries?"

She smirked.

Carly stuck her tongue out. She wasn't about to have Sam confuse her with her logic.

"You just shush, Sam Puckett… Your babies and I don't need that…"

Sam smiled.

"Yes, you do… my three little Cupcakes are eating well tonight… I have Uncle Carmine's recipe for Pasta Carbonara..."

This was emotional blackmail. Sam knew that Carly was a sucker for her cooking, especially something that had originated in the kitchen at _Il Terrazzo Carmine_.

Sam laughed. Carly was so hungry that the thought of Uncle Carmine's Carbonara had turned her into one of Pavlov's dogs. Sam knew she couldn't let this be. She needed to tease Carls about it, just a little bit. Sam gently tapped the corner of her own mouth with the tip of her finger.

"Umm, Cupcake… you've got… you know… just there…"

Carly was immediately hideously embarrassed.

"Oh my God!"

Sam had crossed the threshold and was now holding her brunette close.

"Relax… it's Uncle Carmine's carbonara… I get it… now you just relax while Mama takes care of you…"

Carly knew better than to argue with Sam. As much as she wanted to help and do her fair share, she knew that Sam's _'You're eating for three'_ argument would trump anything she could ever come up with. She decided that staying put was by far the most judicious course of action.

Sam again picked up her three grocery sacks and made her way to the kitchen. Carly stretched out on the sofa, mortified at the realization that she could no longer see her toes. This aside, she knew she would never have to worry. She had Sam and that was all that mattered.


	14. iHost A Dinner Party

**iHost a Dinner Party**

Sam felt the gentle tingle of a vibrating cell phone in the pocket of her cargo pants. Seeing who the message was from, she stuffed the phone back into her pants pocket and made a beeline for the little half bath tucked in the front hallway, near Spencer's bedroom. The pasta would keep for two minutes unattended.

"Sam!"

"Back in a minute, Cupcake!"

Sam ran inside, slammed the bathroom door, and locked it behind her. She had hoped that Carly hadn't seen the flush of embarrassment on her face. If that were the case, she'd be caught and all of this – everything Sam had hoped for and dreamed of – would likely be over.

She pulled the phone from her pocket and flipped it open. She had a new text message.

* * *

><p><em><strong>NEW MESSAGE<strong>_

_**FROM: Marx**_

_**Sent: 4:47 PM, PST**_

_Sam:_

_I'm ashamed of myself. About the other night, I know I shouldn't have… If you hate me now, I get it. I'm sorry. Friends? – Shelby_

* * *

><p>Sam wanted to throw up. She figured that this was coming. After what Shelby had confided in her, she completely understood why she had become a fighter – and a damn good one at that. She had been treated as harshly by her own family as Sam had by Pam, if not more so. It followed, at least to Sam's line of thinking, that Shelby's personal boundaries got a bit hazy. Sam could forgive that. She texted her back.<p>

* * *

><p><em><strong>NEW MESSAGE<strong>_

_**TO: Marx**_

_Shel:_

_Aint no thing. Your secret's safe with me. Collect the wife and join us for dinner. – SP_

* * *

><p>Sam choked down the discomfort rising in her chest, flushed the toilet, and ran the sink; so as to give the appearance she was washing her hands. She was being dishonest, sure, but it wasn't as though she'd cheated on Carly. Carly was her Cupcake. Even in a world where they were both single, Shelby Marx would never be Sam Puckett's type – they were far too much alike. Sam and Carly Puckett were yin and yang. Sam Puckett and Shelby Marx could only ever be yin and yin.<p>

Sam exited the restroom and rejoined her spouse in the living room. She played everything off smoothly.

"Oh, Cupcake, I almost forgot… I invited Wendy and Shelby for dinner… You know how much that recipe always makes."

It sounded awful convenient, but Carly also knew that Uncle Carmine's recipes tended to be, shall we say, a tad on the generous side. She smiled.

_**LATER THAT EVENING…**_

The Marx family darkened Carly's doorstep at six thirty that evening. Sam was still in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on dinner. True to Puckett form, even an intimate dinner for four friends would end up feeding a dozen. The buzzer went off, Carly fully intent on waddling her very pregnant self over to the door to answer it. Sam was having none of it. She left the slotted spoon in the pot on the stove and ran through the living room to the door, fussing at Carly along the way.

"Park it, Missy…"

Sam's finger pushed the button. The intercom crackled to life.

"Yo…"

Wendy's voice came over the speaker.

"It's us…"

Sam smirked. Just like in high school, Wendy needed to be the center of attention.

"C'mon up, ladies…"

_**MOMENTS LATER…**_

Sam ushered the Marxs into the living room, playing hostess as best she could while cooking and attending to Carly's needs. Wendy, now a bit rough around the edges, looked as though she could go into labor at any time. She still insisted on being the same old Wendy. She held her arms out wide, begging for a hug from her old friend.

"Sam!"

The blonde humored her.

"Hey Wendy…"

Shelby and Sam eyed each other uneasily. They both knew that a hug was out of the question.

"Hey Shel…"

Shelby could read that look in Sam's eyes. They were both sorry for what had happened, however innocent and gentle it had been. Shelby just did what she did best. She dialed up the tough, macho façade that was reserved for public events and fight nights.

"Sup?"

Sam smirked at her. She knew what Shelby had just done and why.

"Hey Marx, you'd better help your little wifey there to the sofa…"

It was clear that Wendy was having a bit of a difficult time. Shelby escorted her to the sofa to join Carly, her hand instantly in the small of her partner's back. Her voice was gentle. Sam knew that it was sincere. She lingered on the image of Shelby with Wendy for a moment before returning to the kitchen.

The blonde glanced out from the kitchen island, surveying the scene. She was contented. Life was just about perfect. What she had now was nearly all she'd ever wanted. Everything appeared to be just so, but, truly, it was completely upside-down. She and Shelby, by all outward appearances, wore the pants in their respective families. Truth be told, however, they were closet daffodils. Sam would deny it as long as there was breath in her body, but her Cupcake was always the one who held all the cards.

She knew that in a very short time, the four of them would be celebrating the expansion of their families, and it warmed her heart. She wasn't a father, but she'd agreed to be Carly's big, strong protector. Carly would always be _Mommy_ to their little ones. Sam was perfectly happy being _Mama_.

_**AFTER DINNER…**_

The two couples huddled around the coffee table for after-dinner drinks. Sam and Shelby had black coffee while their ladies were allowed herbal tea. They sat and talked about the wonders of parenthood.

"So, have you guys picked out a name for your little one?" Carly asked, excited.

Wendy obliged her.

"We've settled on Megan."

Carly and Sam both agreed that it was a nice name. Shelby, at her first opportunity, turned the tables on the Pucketts.

"And what about you two? Have you come up with names for your little brood?"

Carly knew that Shelby was kidding, but hearing her little people referred to as a brood made her feel like she was carrying a litter of puppies.

Sam spoke up.

"Well, since we found out we're having girls – God, how scary is that, right? – We've gotten names pretty much nailed down. Call me sentimental, but Carls has agreed to naming one of the girls for my sister. As for the other, we're thinking of naming the other for the Doc…"

The Marxs looked at each other quizzically. There was definitely more to this story.

Carly Puckett cut them off.

"We've got our reasons. I just hope that our kids are as good of friends as we are. It's… I dunno… nice."

Sam put her hand on her partner's knee, giving it a gentle squeeze. It had been a wonderful night.


	15. iGive of Myself

**iGive Of Myself**

The Bensons sat in semi-seclusion, having wrangled a corner table for lunch at _The Palomino_, the restaurant where Melanie routinely ate after meetings or recording sessions. For the second Saturday in a row, Mel had been dragged, kicking and screaming, out of her domestic tranquility and summoned to an early morning business meeting. She was like Sam on a good day. She impaled another forkful of her Caesar salad.

"Stupid jackasses…"

He didn't want to have her sit there being grouchy. That solved nothing.

"Sweety, that doesn't sound like very positive talk… They agreed to what you wanted."

She smiled, chuckling at him.

"That's not the point…"

"Then what _is _the point, oh Mythical one?"

Melanie blushed. She loved being his little Mythical Melanie. She looked at her husband with her very best poker face.

"I'm a diva… I'm supposed to get my way…"

Freddie laughed, taking her hand in his.

"Sweety, let's go home…"

There were times when, although she was brilliant, Melanie Benson was as dense as Sam in Math class. She stared at Freddie blankly. Freddie loved the way her nose wrinkled when she was confused. He continued, unabated.

"Just trust me."

She would. She would trust this man with absolutely anything. She looked twice to be sure, but comprehension finally dawned on her, washing over her like a warm bath – like the warm Saturday bubble bath she was forced to forego this morning, completely throwing off her entire routine. The little light switch in her brain finally clicked. She finally understood what he was _really_ trying to say.

"Check, please!"

_**ACROSS TOWN, AN HOUR LATER…**_

Freddie had laid it on thick. He had insisted that she needed to cover her eyes, because he had a surprise for her. Given her past experience, Melanie was sure that one of two things was true: Either her cukey little man-boy had a better poker face than she did or he was being incredibly inappropriate. Regardless of what was true, she couldn't contain her excitement.

"Freddie, Sweety, this is stupid… Can I _please_ open my eyes?"

For the fifth time in the past ten minutes, he told her _No_.

Mythical Melanie put on her best playful pouty face as he led her through the front door.

"Okay, you can open them…"

Melanie opened her eyes to find the house seemingly the way that they had left it early this morning. She threw her best mock tantrum, shoving him in the chest, stamping her foot like a spoiled little girl.

"You promised me a surprise, you… you… you… you _boy_!"

It was a perfect tantrum – if she'd been eight years old again. Freddie couldn't help but smile.

"I know I promised you a surprise, Melanie, my love…"

Freddie paused, his voice getting teasingly playful.

"_Now… _If I were a surprise for Mythical Melanie, where would I be?"

A broad, perfect smile broke across Melanie Benson's face. She kissed her man gently on the lips and broke into a bit of a run. If Freddie had bought her a present, there was only one place in the house that it would be.

_**MEANWHILE, AT BUSHWELL PLAZA…**_

"Just hold still!"

Spencer Shay was busy turning his baby sister into art, and Carly was none-too-happy about it, even though it was her idea in the first place.

"Hmmhmmmhmmmpfhmmm!"

Spencer ignored Carly's muffled protests and applied another liberal coat of plaster to her stomach region. She had approached Spencer with the idea months ago, when she and Sam had found out that the IVF had been a success. She wanted to give her wife a gift that only she could.

Sam went out of her way to be Carly's big, strong protector, no matter the fact that Carly hadn't needed her protection in well over a year. Carly had never said anything to Sam about the dynamics of their relationship, aside from that Sam should do whatever made her most comfortable.

Comfortable was something that Carly wasn't at this particular moment in time. It was hard to be comfortable when your big brother had you covered in Lord-knows-how-many coats of plaster, in order to make a life-sized cast of Carly, in all of her glory.

Unfortunately for the Cupcake, Sam had misconstrued what Carly meant. She mistook that to mean that she should do _what she thought would make Carly happiest._ This was, Carly knew, why Sam had gone insanely butch in the past year. Sam's brain told her that in order to give Carly the best life possible, their life needed to mirror that which they knew.

Carly had gone around and around with Sam on this issue – always in private, in hushed tones – several times in the past few months.

_"Sam! I just want to be with you! I don't need you to fit some stereotype..."_

_"But Cupcake, what about our first date?"_

Carly had rolled her eyes at the time.

_"Sweety, that was different… Whatever we do in the moment doesn't mean that's the way it always needs to be…"_

Carly had won that fight by offering to make Sam a full pound of chocolate-covered bacon as a midnight snack, coupled with the traditional Carly Shay boo-boo lips. It worked every time.

"Okay in there?"

Spencer shook the cobwebs from Carly's brain.

"Mmmhmmmpfff!"

Spencer took that as a _'Yes'_ and continued working, taking special care not to confuse the hoses at the top of Carly's head. As she was eating and drinking for three, confusing her _'Breathing'_ hole and her _'Drink'_ hole would be problematic indeed.

Carly stopped caring. She was encased in gauze and plaster for the sake of art, and it was making her sleepy.

_**MEANWHILE, AT CASA DE BENSON…**_

Melanie squealed with glee.

"Freddie Benson! You totally shouldn't have!"

She was right, he shouldn't have, but as chief financial officer of Mythical Music, he had the right to. Freddie Benson had gone ahead and dropped nearly four thousand dollars on the custom Gibson guitar that she'd been gawking at for the past several months at the music store. She certainly could afford it, but wouldn't spend the money on herself. He figured she deserved it.

Melanie shrieked again, jumping up and down this time. She had to share the news with someone, so she decided to call the one person she knew had nowhere in particular to be. Her fingers trembled and she scrolled through her call log and dialed Carly.

Before Melanie knew what had happened, her new toy was safely in the stand at her feet and she was in Freddie's arms. She knew well what was on his mind and she wasn't protesting.

_**BACK AT BUSHWELL…**_

Carly's PearPhone danced across the table, playing a sweet little tune.

"Hmmhmmmhmmmpfhmmm!"

Spencer finally took the call.

"Yellow! Carly's phone… Oh hey, Kid… No, she's a little wrapped up right now… Yeah, Okay…"

From the sound she was making, Carly was a mixture of confused and upset. Spencer didn't pay it any mind. He was yelling, simply to be heard.

"CARLY! CALL MELANIE!"

Thankful her brother couldn't see her, Carly rolled her eyes inside what she now thought might be her death mask. Her brother was, simultaneously, Seattle's most talented starving artist and Carly's own idiot-man-child. As she'd realized several Christmases ago, when he'd nearly burned the house down, she wouldn't have him any other way.


	16. iAm A Fighter

**iAm A Fighter**

The next week had flown by. Wendy was nauseous, and, for the first time in weeks, her pregnancy wasn't to blame. Shelby was back in the ring tonight for the first time in nearly a year, putting her world championship on the line.

This wasn't the issue. This was never the issue. Wendy loved Shelby deeply and fighting was what she did, but she felt that a tiny part of her died each and every time that her partner stepped into the ring, World Heavyweight Champion or not.

"Shelby, please!" Wendy begged, as she always did.

"You know I can't, Baby…"

"But we're going to have a child, Shelby… What would I do if… if… if…" Wendy choked back melodramatic sobs. She always thought the worst before Shelby entered the ring.

Shelby wanted to be tough and masculine and ice cold to the core, as she had trained herself to be, but this was Wendy. This was the girl she had met completely by happenstance – the girl who had stolen her heart, mind, body, and soul.

"Nothing's going to happen to me, Tinkerbell…" Shelby used her pet name for her girlfriend in an attempt to lighten the mood. It made Wendy smile, but it was clear that she was still upset. Shelby continued on. She knew to get it out of the way. They did this each and every time that Shelby was contractually obligated to lace up her gloves.

"Besides, my love… Three more after tonight, then I take that broadcasting job, like we talked about, I promise…"

Wendy was touched and broken all at the same time. She spoke in a deflated voice, sobbing into her partner's shoulder.

"You promise?"

Shelby's warm caramel eyes locked on her partner's.

"Yes, of course I promise… We have a family to think about… and besides that, believe me, I'm in good hands. You won't need to worry about a thing."

Shelby dropped to one knee, just as she had the night that she had asked Wendy to be hers. She planted a gentle, yet firm kiss on her navel.

"Be a good girl… Mama's gotta go to work… Be good for Mommy. I love you…"

At first she thought that she'd imagined it, but the look on Wendy's face told her otherwise. Shelby had just felt her daughter kick. In her own mind, she thought of it in terms of her own training. In Shelby's mind, Megan had just given Mama a knuckle bump.

Shelby kissed Wendy gently and quietly left their apartment. Wendy had company coming over and Shelby knew what she needed to do.

Wendy, though resigned to her fate tonight, spoke gently to the one she loved.

"Be strong, Shels…"

The prizefighter brushed a strand of auburn hair from her partner's face, wiping away a tear.

"Always am, Wendy Darling… Don't worry. My back is got…"

Shelby kissed Wendy gently on the cheek, as she did every night before drifting off to sleep. She zipped up her jacket and walked out the door. Before crossing the threshold into the hallway, she looked back over her shoulder, shooting Wendy a playful look. This was their routine on fight nights when Wendy couldn't come with her.

"Don't wait up…"

It was a little white lie between the two of them. Shelby knew that Wendy absolutely would.

_**KEYARENA, FORTY-FIVE MINUTES LATER…**_

There was a knock on the dressing room door. Shelby Marx was a million miles away. The sound broke her concentration, disrupting her silent prayer. Her hands were wrapped. She was ready to go. She was simply spending her private time alone with her thoughts. She stared at the photo of Wendy taped to her dressing room mirror, taken on their first date. A familiar voice caught her attention.

"Ten minutes, Champ…"

"Thanks… I really appreciate you doing this for me."

"Of course… I…"

Shelby interrupted her corner man.

"Here…"

Shelby passed a handful of personal items, including her ring, her rainbow freedom ring necklace, and Wendy's picture, over. Her entourage and training staff – her professional inner circle – were the only ones who knew the details of Shelby's private life. She was a champion – the best in the world at what she did – but Shelby Marx was human, nonetheless. If you cut her, she would bleed just the same.

Content that she had made peace and was now ready to walk in the light, Shelby Marx quietly crossed herself in front of the mirror, pulled the hood of her robe over her head, and stood up.

"Okay, let's go…"

_**TWENTY MINUTES LATER…**_

"…_and the winner by knockout, at forty-eight seconds of round number one… still heavyweight champion… Shelby Marx!"_

The house lights came up. Shutter clicked and strobes flashed. The locked door to the octagonal cage swung open. The champion's entourage rushed in, immediately basking in the warm glow of another victory. Her opponent, formerly the international women's champion, had come all the way across the pond from Wales to be thoroughly embarrassed. Shelby Marx wore her championship belt around her waist, her newly-won title belt slung across her shoulder. She was all smiles. Her new cornerman took her hand and raised it in triumph for the cameras, a small chain with rings, all the colors of the rainbow protruding from the pocket of the corner jacket. The pay-per-view cameras caught it, but the only eyes that truly saw were half a city away.

Shelby was preening for the cameras. This was all choreographed. It fed the public image of Shelby Marx as the self-absorbed world champion, although nothing could have been further from the truth. It all had a meaning. Shelby kissed both of her fists, showing off for the cameras. She flashed the cameras, holding three fingers across her chest, where her heart beat steadily in her chest. To the masses, this meant nothing. To those who knew better, however, it wasn't simply Shelby counting down the three remaining fights of her professional career. This was W. W for Wendy.

Shelby rested her head gently against her cornerman's shoulder. In the safety and privacy of the tunnel heading to her dressing room, Shelby spoke.

"Thanks for keeping my things safe…"

Sam Puckett turned to face her friend.

"I _told _you… Your back is got…"

Shelby no longer cared. Her career in the ring was nearly over. She slipped her necklace back on. She felt like a complete human being again. She knew Wendy would be waiting, no doubt along with a houseful of friends. It was time to go home.


	17. iAm Yours, As You Are Mine

**iAm Yours, As You Are Mine**

It was a hazy Saturday morning at Bushwell Plaza. The previous night had been fight night, and, rather than leave Wendy to care for an injured Shelby on her own, the prizefighter and her pregnant partner found themselves being shuttled across town to Bushwell by twin blondes. Sam had agreed to this solely for the opportunity to jump behind the wheel of Shelby's restored muscle car. Her sister, however, always the doting mother hen, had managed both to make Wendy comfortable in the back seat of her own car for the cross-town drive, arguing with Sam in hushed tones before leaving the home that Wendy and Shelby had made for themselves.

"Oh, Samantha, please…. It's just you and Carly… Spencer gives you two plenty of space, and have you looked at Wendy recently? The poor girl needs some looking after…"

Sam grumbled, shoving her fists into her pants pockets, looking down at her shoes.

"What was that?" Melanie asked sweetly.

It didn't matter. Melanie knew her sister better than that. She and Shelby Marx looked like they were made of steel, but Mythical Melanie knew that her sister was really Carly's little cream puff.

_**BACK IN THE PRESENT…**_

The elevator dinged and its doors yawned open, depositing a very pregnant Wendy Miller into the middle of Carly Shay's living room. Melanie sat up, partially dressed and hair mussed, from the sofa, where she'd fallen asleep with Freddie. She was thankful that Wendy had had the good sense to use the elevator, rather than attempt to take the stairs. She was far too much in a family way to even attempt the stairs from the third floor.

"Well, Good Morning!"

Melanie was chipper, even at this hour of the morning. She smiled at Shelby Marx's other half, gently nudging her still-sleeping husband in an attempt to clear enough room for Wendy on the sofa.

Wendy yawned, making her way to where the pretty blonde sat.

"How is Shelby?" Melanie continued, sensing concern and sadness on her friend's face.

"Sore…"

The voice came from the stairs leading down from the third floor of the loft. It was Shelby.

Melanie knew that the fight had ended quickly, but she had no way of knowing what kind of toll her years in the ring may have taken on Shelby's body. The lanky brunette navigated the stairs slowly. Last night had been a good one, so far as sleep was concerned, but she was still tender, nonetheless. Wendy was upset. She hated the mornings after fight nights. She wanted to run to Shelby and protect her.

"Honey…"

Wendy was going nowhere, gently restrained by the embrace of Melanie Benson.

"Wendy, no… She's alright; she's just a little sore…"

Shelby knew that none of this was any use. She spoke forcefully, but gently. Hopefully Wendy would believe the words coming from her lips instead.

"I know you worry about me, Pumpkin… but really, I'm okay. Nothing more than icing down a few bruises, really…"

Wendy looked across the room, in search of her partner's eyes. She instinctively knew the truth. It was the out-of-control hormones compounding her own worst fears. Shelby's eyes told Wendy that there was absolutely nothing to fear.

Melanie Benson felt the heat of embarrassment flush through her entire body. She could think of a dozen places that she'd rather be at this very moment rather than caught between Wendy and Shelby, as well as Carly and Sam's own drama. Her sister was helpful, sure, but Melanie wished that Sam was somewhere beside in the bathroom with Carly, helping her wash places now long out of reach. Wanting to be anywhere other than stuck in the middle, Melanie sat patiently and waited for Shelby to cross the floor. Wendy was finally contented; back in Shelby's bruised hands. The fighter held her partner gingerly, trying to allow the blonde and her beau enough room to be comfortable.

_**TWENTY MINUTES LATER…**_

Sam and Carly descended the stairs from the second floor. They had just come from the bathroom adjoining Carly's childhood bedroom, which they now shared. They were both fully dressed. Carly's head was wrapped in a towel. Sam's blonde locks fall down her back in a damp ponytail, reminiscent of a style Melanie might wear.

Sam stood behind Carly, cradling the Cupcake's dainty, well-manicured fingers in her palm. Carly loved her, but resented being treated like a porcelain doll.

"Sam! I can manage by myself…"

"The Doc says otherwise, Cupcake."

Carly grumbled quietly to herself. She knew that arguing with Mama was no use, especially when she knew that Sam had her very best interests at heart. Descending the stairs, Carly was greeted by a house full of guests. Melanie and Freddie had met the couple at the foot of the stairs, while the remaining couple had taken over the sofa. Though swollen and uncomfortable in her own right, Wendy was intent on nursing her beloved's injuries. She cooed over Shelby, resting bags of ice over her partner's swollen knuckles.

"Oh, Shelby… I wish… can't this all be over? You mean so much…"

The fighter spoke gently, in whispers meant only for her partner, though she knew her friends could hear. She didn't care. They knew her. They knew who the real Shelby Marx was and didn't care. She had nothing to hide from these people.

"Wendy, please… We've been over this. Three more and I'm done… I promise… _REALLY…_"

Wendy removed the ice bag, kissing Shelby's purple knuckles. The prizefighter winced, ever so slightly, though she tried to hide it. The warmth of Wendy's breath was soothing, though it had inadvertently brought pain to the surface. Wendy was as gentle as she could be. In a very real way, she held her entire world in her hands.

_**LATER, AFTER BREAKFAST…**_

The six friends lay around the apartment, each in the arms of their significant other. Melanie had assisted Sam in wrapping and bandaging Shelby's hands, solely to keep down the swelling. Shelby Marx was tough and could _'play through the pain'_, but all parties involved agreed with Wendy that despite how tough Shelby thought she was, there was no need for her to suffer unnecessarily. The group sat around the television. They paid very little attention to the _Girly Cow_ marathon, discussing instead the arrival of the Marx baby, as Wendy's due date was slightly more than two weeks away.

"Are you nervous?" Carly asked, anxiety entering her own voice for a split second.

Since becoming pregnant, Wendy had acquired a mouth somewhere between Sam's and Shelby's. She was sarcastic, flippant, and caustic.

"Nervous? No… not at all… All I have to do is pass something similar to a bowling ball out of an…"

Shelby cut her off, thoroughly embarrassed.

"WENDY SUE! I think we could all do without the visual, thank you very much, young lady… I believe high school health class has prepared us well enough for all of that…"

The redhead in Shelby's arms instantly grew hot.

"Sorry…"

Shelby stroked Wendy's head gently with her bruised fingers, chuckling.

"It's alright… We all love you..."

Nearby, Carly lolled her head back, looking up into Sam's eyes. They didn't need to speak a word between them, but Sam knew that Carly was thanking her for doting on her the way she had of late. Carly would never admit, even to Sam, how difficult the past few months had been for her. She knew that it would all be worth it in the end – when she and Sam could hold their own little babies and worry absentmindedly over their futures. Everything that needed saying Carly's eyes seemed to say. Sam simply knew her that well.


	18. iWant Your Attention

**iWant Your Attention**

The sunlight entered Carly's bedroom window early that Friday morning, cutting a swath across Sam's face. She loved this. She loved lying here, watching the blonde sleep. Sam had been so good to her since they'd decided to do this, it was amazing to her. Sure, Sam had always been good to her, but all of this went above and beyond the call of duty.

Carly flicked Sam's ear with her finger. Sam stirred, swatting away the imaginary bugs in her dream. Carly flicked Sam again, this time harder. It was more of the same. The third time was the charm. Carly snuggled in close to Sam, kissing her gently, much the same way she did every morning, except that this time, she nibbled Sam's lower lip a _touch_ harder than usual. It did the trick. Sam Puckett awoke with a start, as though she'd been doused with ice water.

Carly smiled at her, stupidly.

"Hi…"

Sam wasn't yet fully awake. Her body told her that she should enjoy what Carly had just done, but she didn't fully understand _why_ she'd done it. She had deliberately behaved herself for the last few weeks, fearful of hurting her Cupcake. Sam Puckett had the tendency to play rough from time to time. She wanted everything to be perfect. Things _had_ to be perfect. These were her Cupcake's Cupcakes that they were talking about, after all. Sam rolled on her hip, her partner now prone beneath her. If Carls wanted to play games with her that was okay – except that the games would be played on Sam's terms.

"Listen up, Sassmaster…" Sam began. She had gone from zero to naughty in no time flat. Carly had seen this before, but not recently. Her eyes widened. Sam didn't know if it was out of excitement or if she'd pushed back just a bit too hard, too fast. She immediately retreated.

"Cupcake, I'm sorry…"

This was clearly not the response that Carly wanted. Even under the combined weight of her babies and their Mama, she wasn't the helpless invalid Sam treated her as. She was upset. She managed to find something of a happy medium between _'tantrum'_ and _'domestic dispute'_.

"Sam, I don't want you to be _sorry,_ I want you to be into me!"

Sam could read the misunderstanding in Carly's eyes. Their ships had passed in the night, flying under different flags. Sam had been right about Carly's intentions the first time. She _was_ Sam's little Sassmaster, and she wanted Sam to treat her like it for the first time in months. Carly looked up into Sam's beautiful blue eyes and immediately got lost. Sam's voice was firm, but nowhere near as harsh as Carly had seen it in the past.

"I _am_ into you, Carls, I am… but if this is what you want, you have to play the game by Mama's rules, understand?"

Carly noticed that familiar sparkle that lived behind Sam's eyes. This was the look she got when no one else existed in the world, save for Carly Shay. Sam Puckett lowered her face to Carly's, their bodies joining at specific points. Her mouth grazed the brunette's neck. Sam heard the familiar sound, as her partner lost temporary control of all her faculties. A proud smile crept across the blonde's face. This was, after all, what her little Sassmaster had asked for.

_**ACROSS TOWN…**_

Melanie Benson was downstairs in the kitchen, preparing the mother of all breakfasts for her husband. He deserved it after what he had done for her the previous evening. Until last evening, Mythical Melanie was operating under the assumption that Freddie Benson didn't want her – not in _That Way_, anyway. This was what her brain told her, as they hadn't shared an intimate moment in quite a while. This was what abuse had taught her. She had seen so many men in her life interested in only the most basic things, that she was afraid that her little tech boy had tired of her.

She stood in the kitchen half dressed, swishing her hips back and forth to the music inside her head. It was a very good morning. She could hear him in the shower now. They had become so used to one another in the past year that Melanie joked that it was aging them prematurely. They were such homebodies, she said, that by the time their second wedding anniversary rolled around, they would be taking dinner together at four in the afternoon and calling it a night by seven-thirty. They both had a good laugh at the thought, but for Melanie, there was a certain appeal to it. She didn't have the need to work _traditional_ hours, so her time was ostensibly her own. She wanted nothing more, ever, than to spend it with those she loved.

The shower cut off and Melanie finished plating up breakfast fit for a king. She sat down at the kitchen table and waited for him, letting her bathrobe fall open ever so slightly. She wanted to see if he'd notice.

_**MEANWHILE, BACK AT BUSHWELL PLAZA…**_

Sam had just finished making breakfast for the both of them. She figured that they both needed something after the morning they had had. Sam had dirtied seemingly every pot, pan, and dish in the kitchen, as she had refused to allow Carly fried eggs, sausage, Bolivian bacon, and toast. She argued that it wasn't good for the babies, so the salty badness had been Mama's alone. Carly had gotten pancakes and home fries, so she wasn't complaining, but she felt like a little girl when Sam scolded her about her use of butter and syrup.

"_Sammie…."_ Carly whined. "I'm hungry!"

Sam pointed to the apron she was wearing, covering nothing other than a sports bra and pair of shorts. It read, not surprisingly, _'Kiss The Cook'_. Sam smirked at her.

"Mama's kitchen, Mama's rules, Cupcake…"

Carly pouted playfully. This was done solely to make Sam feel bad. She crossed her arms across her chest, sticking out her lower lip.

"Cupcake no like Mama's rules…"

Sam played along. She knew what Carls was trying to do, but she wouldn't budge.

"Just following doctor's orders, Carlotta… If you don't like it, take it up with the Doc this afternoon…"

Carly blew a loud raspberry in the general direction of the kitchen. She fell silent for a long moment, before speaking again.

"Sam…?"

Sam smiled.

"Yes, Cupcake?"

"I love you…"

Sam knew. She had known that for years.

"I know, Carls… Believe me, I know…"

Despite the fact that her hardheaded wife was attempting to starve her, Carly was over-the-moon. She had the best wife in the world and she was due to become a mom. Life was good.


	19. iAnxiously Await the Future

**iAnxiously Await the Future**

As Carly and Sam left the doctor's office that afternoon, Carly felt thoroughly unpleasant. She'd felt fine until ten minutes ago. She was now firmly convinced that her girls were performing Olympic floor exercises on her kidneys. The brunette was now doubled over, talking directly into her own stomach as Sam drove. Sam could barely contain herself and keep a straight face.

"Girls, Mommy promises we'll all have lunch soon… Mommy's tummy is not a waterbed, so _please_, no jumping…"

Sam chuckled. She hadn't heard anything quite so precious in all of her life, except, of course, the moment when Carly had tearfully professed her love during their senior year at Ridgeway.

"You know, I read this book that said that music helps soothe kids… and that kids exposed to books and music and things earlier tend to do better in school…"

Carly shot her partner a confused look. Her Sam didn't talk like this.

"Huh? Who are you and what have you done with my Sam? Sam doesn't read _books_…"

Sam knew that she was playing. Sam was – though most people didn't know it – a voracious reader. Her childhood and a seemingly poor education hadn't soured her on being self-educated. When they were small, it was Melanie who had pushed her. Later on, it had, of course, been her Cupcake. Sam, for her part, didn't much care what people thought of her. If people thought that she was dense and couldn't comprehend heavy concepts, that was _their_ problem, not hers. She enjoyed reading, especially now. Now, it was her responsibility to learn everything she could. It was her responsibility to know what to expect when her Cupcake was expecting. She smiled at Carly.

"Watch it, Shay…"

Carly's eyes went wide, and she threw her hands up in mock fright.

"Oooh, I'm _so_ scared, Sam_… _"

Sam glanced at her hard. Carly always freaked out when Sam took her eyes off the road.

"Don't you sass me, Carlotta…"

Carly laughed. She knew that Sam was smart. Had she thought otherwise, she would have never paid Sam's tuition out of her mother's life insurance proceeds. The fact of the matter was that the only book Carly remembered Sam reading recently was _The Adventures of Boogie Bear_. Carly knew that that had been one of Sam's favorites from childhood, and she figured that Mama was eager to share it with the next generation. Carly herself had spent much of her _'alone'_ time carrying on one-sided conversations with her babies, reading to them, and doing everything she imagined her own mother once doing.

Without so much as a word, Sam punched a button on the dash. The car's sound system came alive playing a very familiar song. Carly looked to her partner in surprise.

"Melanie?"

Sam chuckled.

"The kids have to get to know the family somehow, right, Cupcake?"

_**AN HOUR LATER…**_

Carly and Sam were cozied up in a booth at the Groovy Smoothie, holding hands. Lunch had put a serious dent in Sam's wallet, thanks to the fact that Carls could now eat untold calories and not feel full. She had most definitely developed a Puckett appetite. French fries, a cheeseburger with the works, onion rings, and a large raspberry smoothie was enough food to choke a horse, but Carly _was_ eating for three.

Sam reached for their large shared order of fries. Carly slapped her hand playfully.

"Mine!"

Sam smirked.

"Ours, Cupcake…"

Carly gave her a serious face.

"Mine. You're outvoted, three to one."

Sam laughed. She tossed a French fry at Carly, hitting her square on her cute little nose. Carly smiled at her. She loved when she and Sam could be silly like this out in public. They'd been coming here for years, and T-Bo was a friend, so they could do pretty much anything here.

"That's one perk to carrying these two around… I get to outvote the Mama…"

Carly's eyes told Sam that this was the happiest that Carly had been in a long time. Sam knew that the past few months had been hard on Carls. She had done all that she could think of to make her partner's life as easy as possible. It had all finally clicked into place. Sam didn't need to try so hard. All that Carly really wanted was for her little blonde ninja to treat her like the same Carly she'd always been. Nothing had changed between them. Things had only gotten better.

Sam's fingers tangled with Carly's as they had reached for the very same French fry at the exact same moment. Bright blue eyes met soft chocolate brown ones.

"Carls, I… I know that I might be overdoing it a little, but…"

Carly cut Sam off.

"Sam, shut up…"

Sam's little Cupcake very rarely gave her this degree of sass. She let it slide.

"I know, and I know why… and I love you for it…"

Sam opened her mouth to speak, but Carly interrupted her again. She really _was_ developing a very loud Puckett personality.

"Now, be a dear and feed me a fry, Mama…"

Sam grumbled, but smiled nonetheless. This is what she'd signed on for. This was '_For Better or Worse'._

_**ACROSS TOWN…**_

Shelby and Wendy arrived at the doctor's office for their appointment to find their doctor speaking in hushed tones to a tall, attractive woman with dark hair and eyes. Shelby pretended not to notice, but this woman was clearly touching Dr. Sharkey's hand in that gentle clandestine way to which Shelby and Wendy had grown accustomed on fight nights or during press events, when Wendy had mysteriously gotten VIP passes. This was the gentle touch that said that all was not as it seemed. This woman was clearly the same woman whose photo Carly and Wendy had mentioned seeing on the doctor's desk, tucked away discreetly, to be seen and unseen all at the same moment.

The prizefighter felt like an intruder. She knew all too well what it meant to have to hide in plain sight like this. She sat quietly, stroking Wendy's hand lightly as they waited.

"…_I have to see a patient… I'll see you at home…"_

Shelby pretended not to hear as the beautiful dark haired woman passed them. She wasn't Wendy, but Shelby had to concede that their doctor had good taste. She had obviously chosen well.

The doctor nonchalantly tossed her head to one side, giving her hair a little flip. It was time to be professional again. She spoke to them as politely and professionally as she could. She had never intended for her personal and professional lives to collide like this, even if the one she loved had done something as simple and innocuous as dropping off lunch. She knew she shouldn't feel silly or conflicted over this – other people's spouses did things like this everyday – but when you maintained these kinds of professional boundaries, in an area of medicine where your patients' anonymity was, at times, paramount, it was easy to beat yourself up over nothing.

"Wendy, Shelby… how are you? I'm sorry for the wait… How are you feeling? Any concerns?"

"I'm fine, a little sore, but no more than usual, I guess."

Shelby gently helped Wendy to her feet, supporting her lower back with one hand. She looked their doctor square in the face.

"Is she going to be alright? I worry, you know, that this kid could show up at any minute…"

A smile crossed the doctor's face.

"Well, it'll be soon enough, let's just leave it at that. We'll just have a look today to be sure, but I feel pretty confident that things are just fine."

Shelby was relieved. She could handle fighting wars in the ring. She could handle keeping her relationship with Wendy under wraps for professional reasons, not wanting Wendy to be hurt. Those were all easy enough. It was this parenthood thing, however, that had the champion shaking in her boots.


	20. iMake A New Friend

**iMake A New Friend**

Saturdays were typically Sam and Carly's day of rest, free of doctor's appointments, work, or other miscellaneous obligations. Sam typically left Carly to sleep in or lounge around the apartment as she took care of the household chores, including a trip to the market for groceries.

Today, however, was different. Today, Carly Puckett felt like venturing outside of the apartment for a little while. True to form, not even a trip to the market was without incident, where Sam was concerned. She had nearly mauled Lewbert for shrieking at them in the lobby. If their relationship or the fact that Carly was with little mini-Cupcakes made him uncomfortable, he'd at least learn to hold his tongue. It had taken Carly whispering gentle nothings into Sam's ear to keep things from getting extremely fighty. Sam had cursed him a blue streak and said that if gay couples made him so uncomfortable, maybe she and Carly would take their monthly fees, inherited from a contrite Steven Shay, across town to the _Elliott Bay Towers_.

Carly yanked Sam by the wrist the minute they were outside. She appreciated her partner's loyalty, but that was a bit much, even for Sam. The little brunette was rough with Sam for the first time in their life together.

"Sam! What the hell was that all about?"

"Nobody is that rude to my Cupcake and gets away with it…"

"It's Lewbert. He can't help how he is… He's just an awful little man…"

"Cupcake…"

Carly let the matter drop. She gave Sam a hug, right there in front of the building. She kissed her roughly on the cheek, solely to make a point. She loved her dearly. Judging from the shriek coming from inside the building, Lewbert had seen and was distressed by it. Carly didn't care. Her days of living for other people's approval were long over. She took Sam by the hand and walked toward the parking garage. If it had simply been Sam, she'd have no problem carrying multiple bags home. The Cupcake joining her now necessitated use of the car.

_**HALF AN HOUR LATER…**_

Sam Puckett was a woman on a mission. She rounded the corner into the next aisle at a fairly good clip. It was, of course, time to stock up on pasta, given the surprise dinner she had in mind for Carls tonight. Carly fussed at her about speeding. Turning the corner, Sam nearly hit another shopper – with a cart full of groceries – head on.

It was someone she recognized. Carly's jaw was hanging open, half out of fear that Sam would cause a pile-up right here in the middle of Aisle 9, half in shock over who her partner had just run into.

There, minus the lab coat, was her doctor, accompanied by the woman she'd seen in the photograph on her desk during her most recent appointment. She fumbled for words, as Sam jumped in, trying to sound cool.

"Uh… um… Hey Doc, sorry about that…"

When things like this usually happened, Sam typically lapsed into Italian, offering a few choice phrases lifted from a childhood spent at Uncle Carmine's right hand. This was obviously out of the question. The foursome immediately stopped shopping and decided to talk.

Carly smiled politely at her doctor as she introduced her partner to them. She felt awkward, seeing Dr. Sharkey out in public like this. She was a wonderfully pleasant woman, and she'd like to think that they could otherwise be friends, but to see her here, completely by happenstance – it felt as though she and Sam were intruding on their private life together, and it wasn't their business.

Though she was off the clock, she was always a doctor.

"You feeling okay, Carly? Any pain? Any problems?"

Carly couldn't resist. She rolled her eyes dramatically in Sam's direction.

"Not unless you count this one…"

The doctor and her partner laughed, almost in unison.

"See? I told you she was funny…"

Carly wasn't a hundred percent sure she liked being discussed over her doctor's breakfast table, but she knew that this woman wasn't the type to share intimate details about her patients lives, either. Besides which, Carly did pride herself on her sense of humor.

Sam spoke up. She knew what she needed to do – what her sense of decorum dictated.

"Hey Doc, look, I'm … well… Why don't you join us for dinner tonight… the both of you?"

Carly's doctor looked green around the gills. It wasn't that she found the invitation itself distasteful – far from it. The fact of the matter was that Carly was her patient, and her personal code of ethics wouldn't allow for sharing a meal with a patient and her significant other in their home. It just wasn't good boundaries. She told Sam this as politely as she could. It wasn't personal, but Carly was her patient.

This hadn't sat well with the light of _her_ life. She was immediately reprimanded, albeit in that cute, playful tone that showed that their relationship was as strong today as it was that day nearly a decade ago, when they had been in Carly and Sam's position – high school best friends realizing that they were something more.

"Oh honey, please… They're not going to take your medical license away for accepting a dinner invite!"

Carly knew immediately that this thin, raven-haired woman was _'Sam'_ in their relationship. She was a bit of a spitfire. Carly immediately liked her.

She could instantly see the wheels turning in Sam's brain. It was clear to Carly that Sam liked the doctor's other half as much as she did. It was always clear to Carly when Mama was up to something. Mama had an ulterior motive, no doubt about it.

"Look, Doc… if it's a matter of… I don't know what… how about dinner at my uncle's place? You like Italian?"

She reconsidered when Sam named the restaurant. It turned out that it was one of the couple's favorite places. They ate there maybe three times a month, whenever _'Date Night'_ rolled around on the calendar.

Sam blushed. Hearing that Uncle Carmine's lobster ravioli was someone else's favorite filled her with a strange sense of pride. She gently handed custody of the groceries over to Carly, pulling her cell phone from the pocket of her jeans. Carly noticed that look in Sam's eye – the one that told her Mama was up to something and not to ask questions. She was speaking to someone – Uncle Carmine, Carly guessed – in fluent Italian.

"What's she doing?"

Carly turned to her new acquaintance, looking her square in the eye.

"Don't ask."

Sam hung up the phone and nonchalantly mentioned a reservation for four at eight that evening.

The couples politely said their goodbyes until later that evening. Walking away, Carly felt heat rising in her face. She adored Sam speaking Italian. It made her all warm and gooey inside. Hearing Sam speak Italian to other people, however, meant that anything could happen. Tonight would definitely be an adventure.


	21. iDinner Date

**iDinner Date**

Carly loved the fact that tonight had become _'Date Night'_, but the fact that she felt like a giant blueberry wasn't helping matters. Sam had to straighten this out.

"Carlotta Taylor Shay-Puckett! I will not have you talk that way…"

This was absolutely Tough Love. Sam had just invoked Carly's full legal name.

"But I'm huge…"

"Pregnant, Carls… You're carrying two small people around with you at all times, so forgive me if your skinny jeans don't fit!"

Sam had come down just a bit harsher than she'd intended. She backtracked gently.

"Cupcake, look… I only know what you tell me. I can only guess how you must feel, but we both know that this will be over soon and that our lives will be infinitely better because of all of this.

Carly wasn't about to argue. She knew Sam was right. She'd never admit it, but Sam was a hundred percent right. She was grumpy and moody and swollen, but all of this was about her own vanity. She loved Sam more than anything. She loved that Sam had held her hand and doted on her and spoiled her the past few months. She knew that Sam would always be right by her side, through absolutely everything.

Sam did the last thing that Carly ever expected. She knelt at the foot of the sofa and spoke directly into Carly's expanding stomach.

"_Mamma vi ama, i bambini ... Dite la vostra madre a guardare la sua bocca."_

Sam kissed Carly's stomach gently twice and stood up, stopping once more to kiss her gently on the cheek.

Carly was ready to stretch her legs and head out for the evening with Sam when she felt two very sharp pains. Her babies had just kicked her.

Sam looked like a cat that had just swallowed a canary. However sore she was, Carly couldn't keep a straight face when Sam was looking at her like that, straining to contain a peal of laughter.

"What? What did you do?"

Sam put on her very best innocent face. The problem was, regardless of how much she loved her, Carly knew that Sam Puckett was very rarely innocent.

"Me? Nothing…."

"Sam…"

"Honest, Cupcake…"

"Samantha…."

"Girl Scout's honor…"

Carly glared at her. The sweet chocolate eyes that Sam loved seemed to say _'I know you…'_.

"Alright… I told the babies that I loved them very much, but to tell Mommy to watch her mouth…"

"You told our babies to hurt me? In Italian?"

Sam looked at her, slightly stung.

"Of course not, Cupcake. I told them that Mommy needed to watch her mouth… that's all. Do you still not get it?"

Carly stared at her blankly.

This was the part about life with her dainty little Cupcake that Sam Puckett hated. Sam had told her this a thousand times in a thousand different ways, but Carly never seemed to understand that Sam loved her – wholly and with no conditions. She explained it for the one thousand and first time. Carls wrapped her in a suffocating hug. All was again well at the Puckett house.

_**IL TERRAZZO CARMINE, AN HOUR LATER...**_

The two couples sat making small talk at the most secluded table in the main dining room. Only Sam noticed the glance one of the new waiters gave her, as though she were something he would otherwise scrape from his shoe. She seethed, but kept it all inside. Waiting for the young man to pass, she summoned Uncle Carmine away from an adjacent table with no more than a gentle nod.

She spoke in soft, lilting Italian as she recounted the disrespect that had just been done here, in his house. She noticed that vein in his neck begin to throb. She knew how Uncle Carmine dealt with disrespect. She knew that the young waiter, apparently fresh off the boat from the old country, would soon know as well.

Carmine Puckett wrapped Sam and Carly into tight hugs, speaking to them in fluent Italian. Carly had come to understand a smattering of Italian. She wasn't fluent, but she knew enough to fumble her way through. Sam put her hand on Carmine's upper arm, subtly telling him to turn. She wanted to introduce their new friends.

_"Questo è il medico Carly. Questo è il suo amica speciale…"_

Carmine understood. There were only rough translations in his native tongue for people like Sam and Carly. Simply because the word didn't exist didn't mean he couldn't honor them as the special people that they were. This young woman was a medical doctor. That was an honorable profession. She was charged with nurturing the newest branches of his family tree. They deserved respect. Carmine reached for each of them in turn, kissing the jewelry on each of their ring fingers. He may have been The Boss, but Carmine knew that for respect to be earned, it also must be given. He looked Carly's doctor in the eyes and spoke in heavily accented English. She brought much honor to his house and joy to his heart, so he said. The young woman blushed, telling the older man that she was simply doing her job – that she had taken an oath to help people.

Her wife squeezed her hand gently. She wanted the one she loved to learn how to take a compliment.

"Honey, stop…"

Carmine Puckett politely excused himself, telling Sam in Italian that their meals would be compliments of the house.

_**MEANWHILE, AT CASA DE BENSON…**_

Melanie's cell phone skittered across the coffee table. She sat on the sofa in nothing more than one of Freddie's t-shirts, eating pepper steak directly from the take-out container with chopsticks. Seeing the 612 area code on the Caller ID made her shriek with glee. She knew Freddie wouldn't necessarily like this, but it had to be good news, especially considering the time difference. The TV no longer held her interest. She knew she needed to take this call, before her little tech boy got out of the shower.

_**IL TERRAZZO CARMINE, AN HOUR LATER…**_

The two couples bade each other goodnight at the front door. It had been a magical night for all parties concerned. Carly and Sam had learned the story behind how the young doctor and her partner, public relations director for the Seattle Cobras, met and fell in love. It was apparent to the young doctor that Carly Puckett wasn't simply another patient. She hadn't wanted to feel compromised, but she had to admit that her lady had been right about the entire evening – nobody was so rich as to throw away a friend. Carly smiled as the doctor gently patted her stomach, telling her that her twins would be along in short order and not to worry. Sam was in the process of hitting her new friend up for free football tickets when Carly flicked her in the ear, scolding her. Sam immediately apologized.

The four women truly enjoyed each other's company. Carly felt sleepy all of a sudden. She rested her head on Sam's shoulder. They knew it was time to go. Sam spoke up.

"Gotta go… Time to get Cupcake here to bed… Hope you have a wonderful night…"

Carly was happy. Sam had let go and relaxed a bit, all the while being the Sam that Carly knew, loved, and needed. She was comfortable. She politely thanked her doctor for joining them for what had been a wonderful evening. It was time to go home and slip into bed with Sam and the rest of their growing family.


	22. iGo Into Labor

**iGo Into Labor**

Sam Puckett had just settled in for her usual early shift in the kitchen at _Il Terrazzo Carmine_ when her cell phone began to vibrate. This made her exceptionally nervous. Carls wasn't due yet, and the only reason she could think of for someone to text her at work at this hour of the morning was if something was wrong with her tiny little Cupcakes.

Frantically, she checked her cell phone, catching a look from a new member of the kitchen staff. She knew that Uncle Carmine must have brought him over from the old country, as he barked at her in Italian to keep her private life out of the kitchen and get to work.

"_Tenere la vostra lingua, vecchio! Non è disprezzo la casa di Carmine?"_

The old cook turned ashen. He had heard Carmine speak of his nieces as though they were his own children, sent from Heaven. In his eyes, neither of Pam's precious twins could do wrong. He had only been told that the blonde's name was Samantha and that she was to be given a wide berth in the kitchen, at Carmine's explicit direction. She wasn't classically trained, but she was to be deferred to as though she were a master chef. The Boss had ordered it, and it would be so. His word was law. He now realized that this young woman had to be Carmine's youngest niece. He had royally stepped in it. He would be on a plane tonight, bound for Rome – if he was lucky.

Sam finally had time to glance at her phone. The panicky bile that had been rising in her throat subsided. The message had originated from a number other than Carly's cell.

* * *

><p><em><strong>NEW MESSAGE<strong>_

_**FROM: Marx**_

_**Sent: 9:12 AM, PST**_

_Sam:_

_Baby time. En route to SUMC. – SJM_

* * *

><p>Her hands still shaking, a second, brand new text message popped onto Sam's phone. She was sick to her stomach. She felt as though she'd just ridden a roller coaster backwards.<p>

* * *

><p><em><strong>NEW MESSAGE<strong>_

_**FROM: Mel**_

_**Sent: 9:13 AM, PST**_

_Sam:_

_Carly with me and Freddie. See you soon. – Mel_

* * *

><p>Sam yanked her apron off with shaky fingers, letting it fall onto the stainless steel countertop with barely a sound. She shouted across the kitchen, knowing her uncle would hear.<p>

"_Lo zio Carmine, Io sto andando in ospedale. Mi sarà di nuovo il più presto possibile!"_

_**SOMETIME LATER, IN CROSSTOWN TRAFFIC…**_

Sam sped, cursing at inconsiderate Seattleites in English and Italian. She was so whipped up, either language could come out of her mouth. It was a craps-shoot.

She saw the exit she needed and took it. She'd covered the distance between the restaurant and the hospital in near-record time, even contending with semis and speeding yuppies. She made a mental note to take time later to be proud of herself. She navigated the maze that was the hospital parking garage and parked haphazardly in the nearest parking space that she could find. She grabbed her bag from behind the driver's seat and made her way for the door.

_**INSIDE…**_

Freddie paced the floor as Melanie held Carly's hand. The mythical musician cradled Carly to her, reassuring her. Without Sam, Carly couldn't do hospitals.

"She's coming, Carly… I promise you she is…"

Carly Puckett was hyperventilating, her mouth buried against her sister-in-law's shoulder. She wasn't speaking as much as making unintelligible noises. Melanie knew the story. She certainly could understand. Melanie stroked Carly's hair gently as Sam came barreling through the double doors, a woman on a mission.

"Carls?"

The brunette lifted her head from Melanie's shoulder.

"Sammie?"

Carly sounded like a little girl.

Sam ran to her partner's side, sitting on the floor at her feet. The moment Sam took Carly's hand, she could feel the knot of internalized stress leave her Cupcake's body, releasing her locked-up shoulders. It wasn't until that very moment that the light went on inside Sam Puckett's head. She had, until now, been operating on sheer force of will – unadulterated animal instinct. She looked between her partner and her twin, thoroughly confused.

"Cupcake?... Wait… Princess?... Hang on…"

Melanie Benson jumped in, offering up the truth, before her sister gave herself a migraine.

Mythical Melanie chuckled.

"Wait… you thought… No, Samantha… Carly's just fine, Honey… Wendy's in labor… Did you not read your text messages?"

Sam held Carly so tightly that Melanie saw the Cupcake turn fuschia.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… Careful there, Killer… She _is _carrying twins, remember…"

Carly didn't care. She knew how much Sam loved her. Sam loved her so much that her brain had completely checked out on her this morning. When Carly thought about it, she realized that it was sort of cute, in a very _Sam_ sort of way. Carly simply let herself be held – sandwiched between the last generation of Puckett twins. It felt so incredibly good to be loved.

_**THREE AND A HALF HOURS LATER…**_

It was closing in on the early afternoon. Melanie had sent Freddie out to the Groovy Smoothie with a wad of cash and the explicit instructions to come back with as much food as he could carry. Freddie had laughed at his wife's request, knowing fully well that T-Bo would hook him up. T-Bo was quite a lot of things, but Freddie, Sam, and Carly all knew that he was loyal to his friends. They would eat well today – whatever Freddie ordered plus whatever food T-Bo could think of to impale, for easy carrying back to the hospital.

Freddie had just wandered back in through the large double doors, arms laden with Groovy Smoothie bags, when Shelby Marx made her first appearance in several hours.

The two-time women's heavyweight mixed martial arts champion emerged from a door down the hall looking as though she'd just gone the distance with her most worthy adversary to date. She was wearing blue hospital scrubs over her street clothes. She broke into a gentle sprint down the corridor to meet her friends. Sam had the distinct impression that Marx had been huffing the Wacky Gas. She was much more loose, relaxed, and upbeat than Sam had ever remembered her being. She greeted everyone informally, as though she was so high that she'd forgotten their given names and could only manage nicknames, nodding to each of them in turn.

"Shay… Puckett… Puckett Two-Point-Oh… Raisin Toast…"

Sam told her friend off.

"You're so damn stupid… How's Wendy?"

The fog finally lifted from Shelby's brain. It felt as though her corner had just hit her with smelling salts.

"Oh, yeah… Right… The family's fine… Six pounds, twelve ounces, twenty two inches long, ten fingers, ten toes… Life is good…"

Freddie Benson, seemingly the only male for a thousand miles, broke the ice, simply to be acknowledged. It seemed as though whenever Shelby Marx was present, Mister Melanie went more than a little stupid. He thrust the Groovy Smoothie bag in her field of vision.

"Cheeseburger?

Melanie slapped him upside the head. Freddie's brain rebooted and he was himself again.

"Uh… Sorry… When can we go and see them?"

Shelby smiled. Sam's sister was a lucky woman indeed. Had she been in the market for a man, Freddie Benson would have been at the top of her list. He was every bit as sweet as Wendy had always said.

"They're sleeping now, but the doc says to give them maybe an hour or so.

Sam Puckett looked to her friend – the toughest broad in Seattle beside herself – and smiled. Nothing needed to be said. Shelby instinctively threw Sam into a tight embrace. They knew what each other was thinking. Both women knew that they and they alone held the answers to the questions the other was dying to ask. That would all come in time. Now, it was time for food, friends, and maybe – just maybe – a little R and R.


	23. iThink It's Time

**iThink It's Time**

Melanie was thankful that it was the weekend again. She simply wanted to stay in bed next to her husband. The previous night had been hell. It was contractually obligated hell, but it was nonetheless. With less than seventy two hours notice and a simple email sent to her PearPhone, her label had unilaterally decided to rework the _Mythical_ album release. This meant that she and Freddie had to scrap their personal schedules at the last minute. It was beyond unfair. For the past year, Melanie Benson had been a slave to her own talent.

The album release party had, due to the short notice, been booked for _The Palomino_, the upscale restaurant that occupied the first floor of the building which also housed Melanie's label. When she pressed her agent for an explanation for her label's push to release the album early, the only answer either party was given was that they had acquiesced to Melanie's scheduling demands, so therefore, felt the need to _'make up for lost time'_. Melanie was crushed, but soldiered on anyway. It was what she, as a Puckett by birth, was expected to do.

She held Freddie close. He was warm and comforting. She inhaled deeply, taking him into her lungs. She and her sister were weird this way. It wasn't enough for the Puckett twins to take their partners onto themselves each and every night for the rest of their lives – they needed to breathe them in, share the very same space, and become one with them. Melanie thought that it was something she and Sam had learned in utero, when one had become two. She figured that was the source of their shared compulsion. From her point of view, it had to be.

Her tech-boy had grown a little shaggy of late. Melanie wound her fingers in the loose dark hair that was now too long for the back of his neck. She loved it. She loved _him_. She held him close, forgetting entirely about the dull ache that was radiating all over her body. She no longer cared. She would stay in bed with her man for as long as life allowed. Nothing but an act of God Himself would move her today. Even the Creator of All had taken a day to rest after His efforts.

_**MEANWHILE , AT BUSHWELL PLAZA…**_

Carly had slept on the sofa last night. It wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but she had to give Sam some space. Sam had refused to leave her side for months, should she need anything. Now, Sam was upstairs with Carly's bed all to herself, very likely dead to the world.

Something didn't feel quite right. No, this wasn't good _at all_.

"SAM!"

The blonde stumbled down the stairs, semi-dressed, wiping the sleep from her eyes. She spoke through a yawn.

"Back to bed, Cupcake, it's still early…"

Sam was impossible. Carly grumbled out of frustration.

"Baby..."

"Yes, Cupcake…"

"Baby…"

_What_, Carlotta?"

She loved the blonde, but Carly was beginning to think that all those years of bacon and Fat Cakes had clogged her brain. She was so stupid.

"_NO_…. _Sam_… BABY!"

Sam finally caught on, nevermind that she was still half asleep.

"Oh, that's nice, Carls… Oh…. OH!...WHOA! Baby?"

Sam was now completely awake, pulling on the hoodie that she had conveniently discarded on the stairs the night before. She shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Yo, Spence! Gotta go!"

Sam could hear the Idiot Man Child in his bedroom down the hall. There was a crash – he must have fallen out of bed – followed by what sounded suspiciously like a fire extinguisher. Spencer Shay came running into the living room, dressed about how Sam expected, in his Cobras football jersey and flannel pajama pants. Sam shot him _The Look_.

"Really, Dude? Duck pajamas?"

She realized that now wasn't the time to quibble over a fashion faux pas. It was time to roll. She didn't have time to wait around for Spencer to look presentable. She would do this all herself. She took the remaining stairs at a bit of a run, shushed Carly when she tried to extricate herself from the sofa, and ran to the front closet, where Carly's _'hospital bag'_ was stashed, having been packed several weeks back. Grabbing it, she doubled back to the sofa, carefully collecting her Cupcake, and escorted her to the elevator. Carly knew the drill. This was how they'd planned for it.

_**MEANWHILE, ACROSS TOWN…**_

The shrill ring of Freddie Benson's PearPhone shattered the moment. This had better be damned important. He was _preoccupied._ He put the call on speakerphone, the words coming out of his mouth before he realized what he'd said.

"Unless this is an _insanely_ beautiful woman, I'm hanging up…"

Melanie popped him upside the head. She knew he was a one-woman man, but the sound of it was still unnerving – until she heard the caller's voice. She knew she had nothing to worry about, ever.

"Look here, you horny little cheeseball!"

Before Sam could continue her rant, Melanie decided to chime in. She was sweet and perky as always. Had Sam not been driving Carly to the hospital, she would have pulled over and allowed herself to be sick.

"Good Morning Samantha…"

Sam explained the gravity of the situation. Melanie did what she always did. She was, of course, the People-Pleasing Puckett.

"What can we do?"

"Well, for starters, Princess, you and Prince Charming there can get your backsides in gear, get over to Bushwell, round up Spence, and get over here…"

Melanie let her sister rant. She could only imagine the strain she was under at the moment, even though she knew that this was coming.

"Anything else?"

Sam told her. Melanie did the talking. She knew Sam was more comfortable being this way with her than she was with Freddie. She would do or say whatever Sam needed.

"Oh, and Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Love you…"

Melanie knew how her sister worked. She knew her intimately. She knew that she and Sam were one. They were one love, one heart. Melanie knew the words before Sam's lips would even form them.

"You too, Princess…"

Melanie ended the call. Freddie looked at her. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Melanie gave him a playful shove in the ribs. She told him to go wash up quickly while she got dressed. It would be a busy day.

_**SEATTLE U. MEDICAL CENTER, LATER THAT DAY…**_

Everyone in Carly and Sam's collective worlds seemed to have found their way to a small stretch of hallway on the maternity floor of the Seattle University Medical Center. Sam had put in a few fleeting appearances, as her bouncing, beautiful, healthy baby girls entered the world at 6:26 and 6:27 AM, respectively. She had nearly passed out from the shock. It was the most amazing thing she had ever seen. Carly had done wonderfully, aside from nearly crushing Sam's hand and blaming her for the pain. Sam had pointed out, with her typical Puckett smart-mouth, that she had technically not _done_ anything, so if she wanted someone to blame, to look at their doctor or – better yet – the donor of half their daughter's genetic material.

Sam entered the hall, still clad from head to toe in scrubs. She met the throng of people, collecting hugs and happy glances along the way. It was awkward for her. Without her better half at her side, Samantha Puckett was a fish out of water. Carly completed her. Sam said what needed saying, and politely excused herself to be with Carly again.

Melanie Benson stood outside the room, peering through the glass at row upon row of tiny bodies. She finally saw them. She met her nieces for the very first time and openly wept when she read the little card bearing their vital statistics. There, right in front of her, was proof positive that Melanie Benson was doubly blessed.

Sam and Carly had given one of their precious little girls Melanie's former name. The new Melanie Elizabeth Puckett stretched herself out. Her famous aunt chuckled quietly. Both girls bore a striking resemblance to Carly's other half, as Sam had insisted on having Carly carry _her_ baby. It wasn't unheard of, but it was an act of selflessness that Melanie couldn't fathom. That was love on so very many levels.

Melanie looked up from her beautiful twin nieces, to find that she very definitely had company. Shelby Marx stood at Melanie's side, a slightly chunky month-old little girl in her arms. This was very obviously Wendy and Shelby's little girl. Melanie was instantly enamored with her. She spoke directly to the little girl, a shock of red-brown hair barely visible. Melanie stifled a chuckle. Today was obviously Shelby's day to dress the little girl. Her tiny little t-shirt read _'My Mommy Can Beat Up Your Mommy'_.

"Well, hello there! Aren't you a precious little thing!"

Megan Marx cooed at her, contented.

Shelby walked closer to the glass, wanting to give her little girl a view of exactly why they were here. She pointed to the two tiny blonde people and whispered sweetly to her daughter.

"See? There they are! Look… Aren't they pretty? You three are going to be such good friends…"

Shelby was mortified. Her little girl erupted into what sounded like a peal of wet, gurgly joy. A tiny little hand slapped flat against the glass.

Melanie laughed. She looked to Sam's friend and smiled.

"Well, it looks like _someone _made a friend…"

Shelby looked down at Sam's other daughter. Ashley Grace Puckett was the older twin, identical to Sam, from what Melanie remembered. Shelby smirked.

"You never know…"

Melanie turned her head, she had heard footsteps.

There, a considerable distance away, was a slight man in jeans and a hooded sweatshirt, holding a large teddy bear. Melanie looked twice to be sure her eyes hadn't deceived her. The oversized bear wore a small gray t-shirt, _'USAF'_ emblazoned across the chest.

Melanie hadn't been mistaken. It was Steven Shay. Carly's father had shown up.


	24. iRecover

**iRecover**

Carly woke up later that day feeling as though she'd slept for a month. She looked around the room and saw Sam in street clothes, rocking gently in her chair, cooing to their little girl. For a split second, Carly thought that Melanie and Sam must have swapped clothes. Carly knew her partner was truly a gentle soul, but this was Sam whacked out on something other than Loopy Gas. This was Sam at her most gentle. She spoke to the little girl in a tiny voice. Carly could only look on in pride.

"See? There's Mommy… There's Mommy…"

Carly smiled. Sam kept cooing to her little girl.

"Ask Mommy why she was sleeping, huh? When you did all the hard work…"

Only on the job a few hours, Sam Puckett had a knack for this parenting thing.

Panic set in once Carly remembered that she'd had twins. Sam squashed a Cupcake Meltdown before Carly to utter a single panicky syllable.

"_Relax_, Cupcake… Mel and the Nub've got her… Twenty little fingers, twenty little toes, we're all good…"

Carly giggled. Sam knew her _far_ too well.

"You've got lots of visitors… Even your father was here…"

_That_ certainly was something Carly hadn't been expecting. They hadn't spoken in ages.

"He left that…" Sam motioned to the large US Air Force teddy bear on the side table, along with flowers and a sealed card.

Carly had no idea what to say. Not wanting to linger on an awkward moment, Sam slowly began to admit guests to Carly's room via text message. Sam Puckett was multitalented. She could rock a newborn and text at the same time.

Moments later, the Bensons came in, Carly's missing daughter dozing in Freddie's arms.

"See? This one isn't mythical either, Fredward…"

It was playful ribbing between the couple. He knew he had deserved that much. He would never live down believing that his wife was once a figment of his imagination.

Carly found herself kissed and cuddled by both Freddie and Melanie at once. She sat up, however tenuously, intent on sharing a moment with her childhood friend turned brother-in-law. She kissed him gently on the cheek.

"You're the best, you know that?"

He flushed and smiled.

"So I've been told…"

Over the next hour, it seemed that everyone Carly knew was coming by. Marissa Benson stopped by, offering to sit in and watch the children, should Sam need to leave for any reason.

Carly knew what Sam was thinking just based on a cocked blonde eyebrow.

'_Not even a day old, and this mess of a woman is intent on giving the kids a complex…'_

Melanie waved off her mother-in-law's otherwise sweet gesture, assuring her that she and Freddie were available, twenty four hours a day, for babysitting purposes.

Marissa Benson gave way to the remainder of the Shay family. Spencer and Socko had driven to Yakima to get Carly's grandparents, who seemed only to concern themselves with the new great-grandchildren and nothing beyond that.

Gibby, Tasha, and Guppy wandered in next, the little boy carrying a very poorly wrapped large box. It was evident that Guppy had attempted to wrap the box himself.

"Happy Birthday!"

Sam couldn't help but chuckle. For once, the kid had gotten it right.

Carly dozed, in and out of consciousness the rest of the afternoon and evening. She awoke to find T-Bo waiting at the door, carrying what appeared to be smoothies and a stick full of she didn't know what. Beyond that, Sam was gone, rocking one of the twins just outside the door. Carly gently lectured T-Bo. His heart was certainly in the right place, but he simply hadn't thought things through.

"T-Bo, they've just been born… You're sweet, but they can't have smoothies just now…"

He knew that. He explained that he thought it would be easier than forcing her and Sam to subsist on hospital food. Carly eyed the large pole that had impaled perhaps two dozen homemade kosher dills. T-Bo was unorthodox, but he was thoughtful, she'd give him that much.

Spencer's friend smiled at her. The Groovy Smoothie had never delivered, but for the Pucketts, he'd make an exception. Whatever they wanted, he'd hand-deliver it. Carly knew she should thank him before Sam overheard, or else T-Bo would be doing nothing but making round trips between the Groovy Smoothie and either the hospital or Bushwell.

_**THREE DAYS LATER…**_

Sam escorted Carly through the lobby of Bushwell Plaza. She had thought of everything. Freddie and Melanie each had a twin, while she had enlisted the help of a few extra hands in carrying miscellaneous baby gear in from the car. Socko had fallen over himself to offer the use of his van, which was sweet, but not _entirely_ what Mama Puckett had in mind.

No sooner had they entered the lobby, Lewbert began grumbling.

"Oh Great! Now there're _more_ of them! And they cry and smell weird!"

Sam glared at him. If looks could kill, Lewbert would have been a crumpled heap on the floor. He still thought of her as a child – Carly's troublemaking best friend. He had _critically _misjudged her. She snapped her fingers and it was all over. Two of Uncle Carmine's best _'collectors'_ had snatched the doorman up by the arms and had escorted him into his office. They needed to have a little talk about respect.

_**IN APARTMENT 8C…**_

Spencer was in the apartment, racing around, attempting to have everything as close to perfect as he could manage. When Sam had gone to pick up Carly, Spencer was left without the strongest arms he knew, and there was heavy lifting to be done. He hadn't meant to snoop, but he had no choice under the circumstances. He had found Shelby Marx's phone number on Carly's desk and called it. She wasn't used to random phone calls from strange men, but she had remembered meeting him before. She packed up Wendy and their little munchkin and were off.

Wendy had settled onto the sofa with Megan as Sam, Melanie, and Freddie left to pick up Carly and the twins. What Spencer had in mind was – in a word – insane, but Shelby sensed that that was par for the course for Spencer Shay.

_**TEN MINUTES LATER…**_

Spencer escorted Sam and Carly into their shared bedroom. Not much had changed, other than the addition of a strange piece of furniture in the corner, where Carly's nightstand had once been. It looked as though a rainbow had just thrown up all over a deformed dresser.

"Like it?"

Carly had no idea what to say, exactly.

"And it is…?"

"Side by side crib… Designed it myself. Put my art skills and my carpentering skills together and… voila!"

Carly shot Sam a questioning look.

"It's safe, Cupcake… Trust me. I told him I wouldn't allow it up here if it wasn't…"

Carly blushed. Leave it to her big brother to think of everything.


	25. iThink About Tomorrow

**iThink About Tomorrow**

It took Carly a few days to settle into her new routine as a wife and stay-at-home mom. It took her an additional week to address all of her Thank You cards for all of her wonderful gifts. By the time she reached the final card, she was fit to be tied. When she opened it, Carly thought Sam would need to rush her back to the hospital. Her heart very nearly stopped. The handwriting belonged to none other than Mythical Melanie Benson.

_Carly,_

_A bet is a bet. Hate to put too fine a point on it, but I told you so._

_I love you._

_Mel_

To Carly's shock and awe, a check, folded down the center, fell out of the card and onto the bed. Sam was at work and Missus Benson was watching the babies. Mess of a woman or not, she was certainly qualified to care for children. Carly picked up the check, ready to make a note of the amount and thank Freddie and Mel for their generosity.

She never even got that far. She felt a panic attack coming on as soon as she laid the check flat.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Mythical Music LLC<em>**

**_Columbia Tower_**

**_701 Fifth Avenue_**

**_Suite 4200_**

**_Seattle, WA 98104-5119_**

* * *

><p><em>Pay to the Order of <em>_**Carlotta T. Shay-Puckett**_

* * *

><p>The check was signed in the light, airy hand of Melanie Benson. She couldn't believe it. Melanie had been serious that night when she bet Carly an obscene amount of money that she was, in fact, carrying twins. Normal people bandied around dollar amounts like that when they absolutely weren't serious by any stretch of the imagination.<p>

Mythical Melanie, however, was born a Puckett. Pucketts, it seemed, were like elephants. Carly had become convinced that Pucketts were unable to forget anything.

This check made her uncomfortable. It was excessive. It was unnecessary. She couldn't possibly accept it. Could she?

She immediately dialed Melanie's cell phone. Her mythical sister answered sweetly on the second ring.

"Say Hey, Cupcake!"

"Don't you _Cupcake_ me, Melanie Puckett…"

"Me-ouch… You okay, Carly?"

"You shouldn't have done that… That wasn't necessary…"

Melanie thought this was cute. Carly actually thought that she'd back down.

"Yes it was, Carls… You're my family, and it's just money… the album's selling well, and I don't spend money on myself… It's just me and Freddie… That's for you, Sam, and the girls. Buy a nice house. Private school. Whatever you guys want…"

Carly felt tears welling up behind her eyes. She hadn't ever considered that. She was simply blinded by the sheer enormity of the number that she never considered everything that the number could do for them. Her voice broke in her throat.

"Th… Th… Thank… Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me. Everything I have, I have because you and Sam convinced me to take a calculated risk. You deserve it as much as I do…"

Carly told her she loved her. Melanie told her that they'd meet up next Friday and head over to the bank together, and then go out to lunch. That sounded good to her. She cleared off the bed and fell asleep. Life had become exhausting.

_**SOME TIME LATER…**_

Winter gave way to Spring and it was a beautiful one in Seattle. It was a rare warm, sunny day in late April. Sam had decided to take her babies to the park. Carly and Mel were out having a girls' day. Freddie had gone out shopping for furniture for his and Melanie's new house on Mercer Island. It was far beyond anything Sam ever wanted for herself, but her sister deserved it. She was a star now and deserved to live larger than life.

Sam pushed the double-wide stroller down the path and sat down on what had become her usual bench. She was right on time.

"Hey…"

"How's it going?"

"Pretty good, you?"

"Alright… you know… the more things change, the more they stay the same, right?"

"How's the new job?"

"Different, but the wife's happy…"

Shelby Marx shot her friend a wry smile. They'd been making a regular date of it lately, spending every Wednesday morning together. It was just them, a large coffee, and the kids.

Sam looked down at her two wiggly little monsters and began wondering out loud.

"What are we going to do with them?"

Shelby chuckled. She moved little Megan from her lap to her hip, bouncing as she walked with her. Sam followed suit, scooping little Ashley up from the stroller, walking back and forth with her, all the while keeping an eye on the stroller.

"Hey Marx, you think things will all fall in line now, or are we in for a wild ride with these three?"

Shelby smirked.

"Who knows, Puckett… Who knows."

The two friends talked, about nothing in particular, when they realized that they weren't going anywhere.

Sam cocked her head, as though she had just seen the strangest thing in the world, as well as the most fascinating. For the first time in her young life, Ashley Puckett had noticed someone other than her sister and was completely fascinated. Ten tiny little fingers had become intertwined, one child reaching out for the other. Megan Marx's dark eyes went wide in amazement and she let out a contented squeak.

The two friends gave each other a look that simply seemed to say _'Oh Boy… Here we go again…'_. Sam chuckled to herself, Shelby seeing the same lopsided, toothy grin that Carly had fallen in love with over the years. Sam Puckett had grown up. Uncle Carmine had quietly retired to Florida, leaving Sam with the restaurant. His _other_ business was kept at arms-length, though there was an understanding that fifteen percent of those proceeds were to go into the restaurant. Samantha was never to want for anything again. So it was written, so too should it be done.

"Hey Shel?"

"Yeah?"

"Dinner at my place tonight? The four of us?"

Shelby knew exactly what the blonde meant. '_My Place' _was always the restaurant.

"Sure, you know Wendy's down for that… That lobster ravioli you make… a thing of beauty!"

They had absentmindedly meandered over towards the playground. They had all played here – individually – as children. Sam pushed the stroller containing her tiny reasons for living gently. She thought of Carly and her friends, wondering what tomorrow might bring.

_###_


End file.
